Reunited
by Sayaka M
Summary: R&K 2. Sequel to Enter the Witch and the Miko. Another member of the STN has been discharged. He runs into Robin and helps her bring Kagome back. In the Feudal Era, they run into someone who looks hauntingly familiar. More YYH in this story.
1. Chapter 1

**Reunited**

**Okay, I had spare time, so I decided to put this up. Hopefully y'all will like it as much as the first one.**

**Full Summary: Sequel to "Enter the Witch and the Miko". Another member of the STN has been discharged. He runs into Robin and helps her bring Kagome back. In the Feudal Era, they run into someone who looks hauntingly familiar. More YYH in this story.**

Michael was tired of being inside all day every day. It was always the same. He would look up active witches, and then the hunters would capture them. It wasn't really bad, but he never saw the sun except through barred windows. But he never really noticed how lonely he was for friends before Robin Sena joined the STN-J. At night, she would come back with doughnuts and coffee for him, and they would sit and talk. That was when he realized how much he needed a friend.

Then they decided to hunt her. He remembered that day well. Amon told him to call all the witch hunters except Robin and Doujima. Since Amon didn't like to have much to do with his partner or the lazy Doujima, he did as he was asked. When they were all assembled, Amon gave the orders to hunt Robin. This caused their sleepy eyes to become alert.

"Why hunt Robin?" asked Sakaki.

"She's a witch," was the answer he got.

Ms. Karasuma didn't say anything, but was looking at Amon sadly.

They left after Michael tracked her. If he had known that she was being hunted, he would have said that he couldn't pick up her signal. She was his best friend, and he didn't want to hurt her. At least they didn't find her after that. Tai Kendal, the guy from the STN-E wanted to see the Orbo in action, when he saw Robin. He shot at her, but she escaped. Now they knew she was in Tokyo, but they didn't know where. She could have fled by this time. Of course, Michael knew where she was, since she kept her phone. Its signal disappeared for two months, but then it came back recently in the same spot. This wasn't how a signal was supposed to act; he would know.

He stretched his legs and stood up. Looking out the window, he saw the birds flying around, free. Zaizen saw him look, and said to him, "Michael, you need to get out."

Michael turned, sure that he had heard his boss wrong. "What?"

"You've been in here for too long. Get out." He tossed him some keys. "Go see what Tokyo has to offer."

Michael's entire face lit up. "Thank you, sir!" he exclaimed. _That's exactly where I want to go. Now I can look for Robin._ He ran to where the car was (I swear, the guy's psychic, knowing these things, knowing where the car is AND how to drive) and drove to Tokyo. It took an hour, but that's because the woods were between Raven's Flat and the outskirts of Tokyo. He parked the car, breathing the fresh air for the first time in a long time. He walked around, looking at the busy streets and stores. Walking into one, he bought lunch for the first time. He'd almost forgotten how, but he did manage to remember.

Walking around, he window-shopped; he didn't want to spend all the money Zaizen had lent him. Then, as he passed a grocery store, he saw her. Robin Sena.

&&

Robin was buying food for her new home. The Higurashis had just moved out that day, and while she was sorry to see them leave, she had to feed herself. They had left everything, but there were still some things missing, like furniture. Well, they had just taken what was in their rooms and the rooms the used. There was still furniture in the guest rooms, but those weren't for regular use. Right now she just needed food. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and ran into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, looking up at the person and freezing.

"Hello, Robin," said Michael, his eyes laughing at her expression.

"Oh, glory," she whispered, trying to run, but he grabbed her arm.

"No, you don't understand. I'm not here to hunt you. I've never handled a regular gun, much less an Orbo one."

"What are you doing out of the office?" she asked, confused. "You're not allowed to leave."

"Zaizen said I needed fresh air, so here I am. I also came to see how you're doing."

She paled. "Then they know where I am?" she asked, panicking.

"No, I never told them. I know you probably don't believe me, but I didn't know that they were going to hunt you, or else I never would have told them where you were."

"They already knew that I was at Nagira's, though. Why did they need to track me?"

"You know Amon. He's paranoid most of the time, and he thought that you might not be there, and wanted to check and make sure."

Robin looked at him silently. _I've missed everyone, but I don't know if this is a trap._ She said, "I don't know what to believe, Michael. For now, I'm going to trust you, even though my instinct is screaming at me to run as fast as I can. If I find that you betrayed me…"

"I won't. I promise. You're my best friend, and I don't want to lose you again." He frowned. "Besides, I might have to go into hiding myself soon."

"Why is that?" she asked, concerned about him. She may not trust him very much, but she didn't want something bad to happen to him.

"Something changed in Zaizen lately. He's been acting very strangely. He's not the same man that I used to work for. He's been taking the STN hunters and talking to them for long periods of time in his office. When they come out, it's like something in them was shaken up. It's normal for him to do that to Amon, but he's even done this to Doujima and Sakaki. I haven't been taken in since I'm not a hunter, but I don't think that's it. Ever since you escaped, he's been trying to find you; it's like an obsession now."

_Poor Michael. He's never lied to me yet; maybe I can help him._ "If you can get away, you could stay with me," she suggested. "It's huge, and I could use the help."

His smile was as beautiful as ever. His entire face lit up when he smiled. She envied that ability of his. "When you can get away, just call me and I'll pick you up."

"Okay. I don't know how you'll be able to do that, but I'll leave that to you. When is it okay for me to leave?"

"You say that Zaizen is getting stranger?" At his nod, she continued. "The next time he gets one of his fits, then just leave that night."

"They tend to have a pattern to them. The next one should be in about a week and a half."

"Okay. Call me, and I'll get you."

"All right. And Robin?"

"Hm?"

"It's great seeing you again."

&&

Just as Michael predicted, Zaizen had another fit about not finding the elusive Robin Sena. The other STN members wisely decided to leave before he could get into his fit, which left Michael to take the brunt of it. While Zaizen raged on, Michael was erasing what he'd been doing and all his extra information on the witches.

What was different about tonight was that Zaizen turned violent. He beat the crap out of Michael; Michael couldn't hit his employer because all Zaizen had to do was say the word and Michael would be killed. He was unexpectedly strong for a 55-year-old, and by the time he was done, Michael couldn't move without feeling a surge of pain. Zaizen dragged him to the elevator, and, reaching the bottom floor, threw him out the door. He yanked the dog collar off his neck.

"Now you're free, Michael. It doesn't do you much good, since you're dead, but now at last you're free. That's what you wanted, isn't it?" Moving drunkenly, he stumbled towards the garage to drive away. After the lights of his car were gone, Michael slowly took out his phone, which Zaizen hadn't broken, and called Robin. Then he waited.

&&

Robin hurried as fast as the speed limit would allow her to. She made it to Raven's Flat in 45 minutes, give or take a few. Parking the car in front of the building, she saw Michael on the steps, not moving.

"Michael," she called, "come on, we have to go." He didn't move. She ran to him, and saw how he was bleeding. "Oh, Michael, did Zaizen to this?" Without waiting for an answer, she tried to pick him up, but she wasn't strong enough. Hooking his arm around her neck, she managed to lift him and hobble over to the car. He went into the passenger seat, and she headed for home.

"I'm surprised you came so fast," he mumbled.

"Ssssh, don't talk," she said. "When you called, you didn't sound too well off, so I speeded just a little bit."

"I didn't know you could drive."

"Well, I'm actually not supposed to; I thought you would drive us back, but for now, I'll be 16. Is that okay?" she teased.

"Just get me out of here, and I'll believe you're twenty-five," he teased back.

While they were driving back, Michael fell asleep, so Robin had no one to talk to for about half an hour. She didn't blame him in the least, but now all she had to occupy herself was watching the road. It was quite boring, but it passed the time, and half an hour later, she pulled into the Higurashi's driveway. Since they had only left a couple weeks ago, she didn't really consider it hers yet. Knowing she couldn't lift him again, she gently shook him awake. She allowed him to lean on her like a crutch, and they entered the house.

"So, this is your place?" he asked in amazement. "How did you pay for it?"

"I have friends in high places," she responded.

"Really high places," he said as he looked around the kitchen.

She set him down and, assuming he hadn't eaten yet, got out some of the food that was in the fridge already. She assumed correct because he looked at the food longingly, but it was too painful to lift his arms.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"It's my arms. I'm debating whether to eat and be in pain or stare at the food and have my stomach declare war on my backbone."

"How about I feed you? That way you can eat and not have your arms hurt because you were moving them."

"Would you, Robin?" His eyes grew big and he gave her the puppy look. Boy, was he good at that.

Trying to keep her laughter inside, and not succeeding, she hand fed him after giving him a painkiller. "Hey, if your arms don't hurt tomorrow, do you think you could do something for me?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll do it even if it does hurt. What do you need? It isn't lifting heavy objects, is it?" he asked anxiously.

"No, it's nothing like that. I have a friend who is in England. She doesn't want to be there, and I need to bring her here. Do you know how I could do that?"

He gave a sigh of relief. "I thought you were going to ask me to do something hard. Yeah, I can do that. It will be a little challenging, but nothing I can't handle. Does she have her parents' permission?"

"She only has one. Do you remember Tai Kendal?" From the look on his face, he did. "He just married her mom, and took them to England."

He whistled. "No wonder she wants to come back. I'm assuming that her mother won't give her permission either." Robin nodded. "All right, if she says that she does, and that her mom gave it over the phone when getting the flight, the info will be in the computer. If she can get the ticket, then I'll handle everything else."

"You're the best, Michael," Robin shouted joyfully.

"No, I'm just a computer genius."

She smiled, watching him try to finish the food he was eating. He was really tired; just eating took a lot of effort. "I'll take you to your room," she said, hauling him up the stairs and into one of the spare bedrooms. All the rooms were spare rooms, but she only used the rooms that weren't occupied by the Higurashis at one time. She even stayed in the same room she used when she first came to them.

"Um, Robin?" His voice cut through her thoughts. "Is there a place where I could wash up?" He gestured to the blood and dirt that covered him and his clothes.

"Yeah, it's connected to your room," she replied. "I'll try to find you some other clothes tomorrow. Do you know what size you are?"

She got his size, and left him to bathe. _Now I have to go shopping tomorrow. Oh, well, it's for a friend. That isn't too bad. But right now I have to call Kagome._ Using her cell phone (all the other phones were gone) she called Kagome's new home. When it was answered by Kendal, she momentarily panicked, but, realizing he couldn't see her, disguised her voice and said she was a friend of Kagome's, and could she speak to her please.

She could tell he didn't want to, but in the background, she heard Kagome say, "Yes, that's for me, thank you" and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she said.

"Kagome! This the Higurashi Shrine."

"Oh! Hang on a minute." There was silence for a few seconds, but then she heard her say, "Okay, hi Robin. I've only been here for a few days, and it's already bad. My family thinks he can do no wrong. And it's hard to get any sleep anymore. It's driving me insane!"

"I would be insane too if I had to put up with that," Robin agreed. "I have a solution to your problem. Tomorrow, Michael will get everything done to see that you come in on the earliest flight the day after tomorrow. All you have to do is buy the ticket."

"Don't they ask for a parent if you aren't 18?" she asked.

"Leave it to him. He lives for a challenge. It's a good thing, since it was really challenging looking up all those witches."

A gasp came from the other end. "Do they know where you are? Wasn't he one of the ones tracking you?"

"Don't panic, he's with us now. Zaizen threw him out and said he was free. He actually thought Michael was dead when he did this, but if they ever find out, Zaizen did say he was free."

"Okay, if you say so." There was shouting in the background, and Kagome said, "I'll buy the ticket tomorrow for the day after. I have to go now. Bye."

"Bye." They hung up.

"I need something to eat," said Robin to herself. Getting all the stuff together, she ate her salad with her usual espresso. _I miss Harry's food,_ she thought reminiscently. _If I wasn't being hunted, I'd go get some, even though it's an hour away._ She finished her food thinking of how Kagome was going to get back here.

&&


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, here's chapter 2. Yay!**

**Fuyu Taki: Glad you like this one, too. Hopefully some other people will like it enough to tell me about it. Until then, it's just you and me. Enjoy.**

&&

Unknown to Robin, Kagome was thinking the same exact thing. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Kendal coming her way until he stepped in front of her and she ran into him.

"Sorry," she muttered, not really focusing on what was in front of her.

"Don't use that tone with me, young lady," he growled.

She just looked at him like he was her inferior, and said, "You have no power to tell me what to do."

"While you live in my house, I do," he sneered back at her.

_This guy is acting exactly like Karo,_ she thought, trying not to cry at the memories that brought. "Then I won't live in your house. I'll leave for Japan, where my home is."

"You don't have a home in Japan anymore. We sold it, remember?"

"I still have friends that will take me in. That way I don't have to see you, and you won't ever have to see me again."

"Your mother won't let me let you leave."

"Well, that's not my problem, now, is it?" She went around him and went to her room. She could tell that he was mad by the way that the floor shook. Apparently he was in the kitchen, since that was the room right under her bedroom. She stayed in her room for the rest of the day, reading one of her books. She didn't even go down for dinner.

Kagome could tell when her mother and Kendal came up the stairs by the voices talking in soft, honeyed tones. Normally they didn't come up until she was already asleep, but the idea of her mother in a bed with him was enough to make her skin crawl and make her stay awake.

_This is going to be another sleepless night,_ she sighed internally._ Might as well go downstairs and put some distance between us._ Taking her book with her, she went down the stairs, not bothering to be quiet since Kendal and her mom were too preoccupied to notice a bomb being dropped on them. The clock on the wall said that it was now 3:30 in the morning. _Might as well call and get my ticket._ She dialed the number, and ordered her ticket for the earliest flight out of England to Japan the next day, which was at 12:00 at night. Feeling much better, she settled on the couch to sleep.

She was rudely woken that morning by Kendal. "Some reason you're not in bed?" he asked harshly.

"None of your business," she mumbled.

"Everything that goes on in this house is my business. Now what are you doing down here?"

"I couldn't sleep last night, so I figured I'd try down here for a change. Got a problem with that?"

"How many times must I tell you not to take that tone with me!"

"How many time must I remind you that you are not my dad, and have no control over my life?"

"That will change very soon, Kagome. I'm adopting you and your brother."

"I'm sorry, but when did I say that I wanted you as a father?"

"You don't have a choice in the matter. In a few days, you will be Kagome Kendal."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but I'm still Kagome Higurashi, and if I have to live as a beggar to remain a Higurashi, then I will. I'm not changing my name!"

"There's nothing wrong with the name. You're mother is already known as Mrs. Kendal."

"Well, she's carrying your kid, so she has to stay with you, but I don't! And I refuse to."

He slapped her. "You'll do as your told, and when I say don't use that tone, I mean it! Your mother has already given her permission to discipline you, so don't think you can just say whatever you like and get away with it."

She walked past him and up the stairs to her room. "Kagome! I'm not finished yet!"

"But I am," she replied coolly. She could hear his growl of fury, but she locked the door. _How am I going to get to the airport?_ she thought. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! I didn't think of this when I was talking with Robin. Wait! They have buses that take you anywhere, right? Yeah, they do. Oh, good._ Dilemma solved, she threw herself onto the bed and tried to catch some more sleep.

&&

Six hours later, Kendal was still steamed at Kagome. "Your daughter has been nothing but trouble," he growled at Mrs. Higurashi. "I've tried being nice to her, but she just doesn't want to like me. You'll have to do something with her."

"In a few days' time, she will be your daughter, and you can discipline her as you like. You could do that now, if she's really being that out-of-control," she said, trying to soothe her new husband. "Talk to her. She's not an unreasonable child."

"She's a demon-child, no offense or anything. She hates me, and she won't change her ways."

_It's probably from being in the Feudal Era for too long,_ thought Mrs. Higurashi. "I'll talk to her. Where is she?"

"She's in her room. I was trying to discipline her for disobeying me, but she walked out on me."

"You can't let children do that," she chided. "If you do, then they'll do that all the time."

"It's not like she gave me much choice. She just went up the stairs and slammed the door in my face."

"That is unacceptable behavior. I'll talk to her about that." And off she went. Knocking on Kagome's door, she marched into the room when it opened. "Kagome, Tai has told me that your behavior has been intolerable." Kagome opened her mouth to defend herself, but her mom plowed on. "Shutting doors in people's faces? Walking out when they're trying to talk to you? I didn't raise you like that, Kagome. You know better."

Now Kagome got a word in. "Mom, he was yelling at me for sleeping downstairs because I couldn't sleep up here. He tries to boss me around, and I don't appreciate it. He thinks that he should be given the respect that we would give our father, but he isn't! He tries to act like a father, punishing me for talking back, and using an unwanted tone, but he doesn't deserve that respect. He hasn't earned it, and he's lost that chance with me because of the way he's treated me."

"He will be your father; he's adopting you in a couple of days. Then you will treat him like he is your blood father. But that doesn't excuse the other things, like walking out when he's talking to you."

"He wasn't talking, he was trying to exert his manly authority, and that doesn't sit well with me. It never has, and it never will. I refuse to put up with it."

By this time her mother was red with fury. "I know why you're doing this. It's entirely my fault. I never should have let you go back to the Feudal Era. I knew it was dangerous, and look at what it did to you."

Not expecting her mom to use that tack, Kagome was speechless. Using her daughter's silence to her advantage, her mom warmed to her subject. "Being in that uncivilized place has rubbed off on you. Now, I haven't told him about that place since he'd think I'm crazy, but I know that that's the reason you've been so strange."

"Mom, it's not them!" Kagome finally found her voice. "They're almost always polite and they aren't the reason I treat him the way I do. He brought this on himself, no one else did."

"Kagome, I don't want to hear that you've done anything like this again. Do you understand?"

Since this was her mother speaking, and not Kendal, she muttered sullenly, "Yes, ma'am."

Her mom left then, tired of being with a daughter who talked back so much. She put a hand on her stomach, thinking, _I'd better be careful, or else the baby might get hurt in some way._

&&

_It's not fair!_ Kagome threw her pillows around the room again. _She thinks he can do no wrong. She doesn't understand. Might as well put this anger to use and pack._ She moved around the room, putting what was hers into the bag that she used in the Sengoku Jidai. She didn't touch what was Kendal's since she wanted no reminders of him. _Okay, the plane leaves at midnight._ It was only a little after nine, but there was no point in wasting time when she had it now. She would just have to make sure that no one saw her backpack, and they wouldn't know what she was doing.

The rest of the day seemed to flow past in a haze. She didn't talk to anyone except Grandpa and Sota. When her mother tried to take the Shikon no Tama from her, she stared stonily at her, not allowing her to even see it. She knew that her mom didn't want its power; it was just a reminder of what she thought had corrupted her daughter, and wanted it removed. Only the intervention of Grandpa saved the situation for Kagome. He knew of its power, and that she was now its guardian. Her mom couldn't argue with her former husband's father, and gave in grudgingly. She thanked her Grandpa, silently saying good-bye, and went to spend time with Sota. Of everyone in her family, she only told Sota what was going on. She had a feeling that Kendal would treat Sota like he treated her and wanted her younger brother to know that if he needed her, he would know where to find her.

"So you're going back to Japan," he said.

"I have to. I'm 'married' to Inuyasha, and I won't leave him. Besides, I hate Kendal and England probably isn't too bad, but it isn't home."

"I have a feeling that when you're gone, he won't be quite as nice to me. Be prepared to get me out of here."

"Why don't you come with me?" she suggested. "You could go to your old school, and stay with me."

"I don't know…" he trailed off.

"I'm sure that we could ask Michael to pull it off. Robin says he's a genius at this sort of stuff."

The indecision of staying with their mom or staying with Kagome and going home leaned in Kagome's favor. "When can you call them?" he asked.

"I'll do it right now." Going over to the phone, she picked it up and dialed their old phone number. _Please pick up,_ she pleaded.

Her wish was granted. "Hello?" asked a tired voice.

"Is this the Higurashi Shrine?" she asked.

"Yes, who's calling?"

"This is Kagome Higurashi. Is Robin there?"

"Oh, you're Kagome. I managed to fix it so that you're all set to go tomorrow."

"Is this Michael?"

"The one and only."

"Um, this might be a little too much to ask, but my brother…"

"You need your brother added? Sure, no problem. You'll need his ticket, but that shouldn't be too hard. Charge it to us, and we'll take care of it."

"You really are the best, Michael. Robin wasn't lying when she said you were a genius."

"What can I say? I know my computers. Anything else while we're talking?"

"How are we supposed to get there?"

"Well, according to this flight, your plane comes in around four in the morning. Robin still can't afford to be seen, so I'll pick you up."

"Okay, what do you look like?"

"Um, I've got orange-ish brown hair, wear colored glasses, and I'm about six foot two."

"All righty then, we'll see you then. And thanks again."

"No problem. Anytime you have a problem that has a computer involved, I'm the guy to come to." They hung up.

"He seems like a nice guy," she said more to herself than Sota. "He can do it. I just need to buy the ticket." She did that while she was thinking about it.

"Um, Kagome, how are we getting back to the shrine?" Sota asked hesitantly.

"It's been taken care of. Michael's picking us up."

"You told him that you didn't know what he looked like."

"He gave a description. It's not going to be easy, but I think Robin will describe us to him. And, since he arranged our flight, he knows which plane is ours and when it comes in."

"By the way, when do we have to leave?"

"Well, our plane leaves at midnight, so we'll probably want to leave around ten."

"Mom and Kendal won't be in bed by then, though."

"Make as much noise as possible. If we can get Mom in bed early, Kendal'll follow her. Problem solved."

"Why do you want to leave so early?"

"We're going to have to take a bus, and we have to pick up tickets. And we don't know where we're going. Bring everything you can carry. Money is a must-have. If you can't carry it, we can't bring it." At his downcast look, she said, "We'll buy what you left later. We just have to leave right now." He still looked sad, but she internally promised that if that was what he wanted, she would use the jewel for him. He's her brother, after all.

True to his word, he made so much noise that their mother went to bed at eight after taking an Advil. Sure enough, Kendal followed her like a puppy and its master. Kagome decided to use this to their advantage and they left an hour earlier than planned. Leaving a note in her room for her mother, Kagome and her brother walked out of Kendal's home and started going home.

It was lucky that they left early. At eight-thirty, the bus came. They paid their fare, and he took them to the airport, which was an hour away, apparently. He wished them luck, thinking that they were a bit young to be by themselves. They thanked him and walked to the counter, where their tickets had been reserved for them. Both of their bags were carry-ons, so they skipped that and waited for their plane to come in. It was right on time, so three hours later they boarded the plane, and started their eleven-hour flight to Japan. Kagome slept most of the way there, and Sota either slept or listened to CDs. Finally, after those long hours, they arrived at Japan. It was 11:00 in England, but it was only 2:00 in the morning here.

Kagome started looking around, but there were so many people around. Grabbing Sota's arm, she hauled them over to the side. "We might as well wait out the crowd," she said as an explanation for almost yanking his arm from its socket. He sighed, shook his head, and put on his headphones again.

A lot of the crowd had gone down, and it was easier to see. However, she still didn't spot anyone that fit Michael's description. Then, looking at the chairs, she saw someone that looked like him only he was asleep. She could clearly see his bruises and cuts. _Poor guy,_ she thought. She didn't want to wake him, but they needed to get home. She went over to him and, shaking him, asked, "Are you, by chance, Michael?"

The boy took a few seconds to reorient himself, and said, "Yes, I am. Are you Kagome Higurashi?"

"Yes I am. Nice to meet you."

"Same. Um, sorry about falling asleep like that. It's only two in the morning here."

"I understand. Shall we go?"

"You don't have any extra baggage, do you?"

"No."

"Then let's be off." They followed Michael to where the car was parked. It took yet another hour for them to make it back to the shrine. Then they were pulling up into their driveway. Michael stumbled out of the car and towards the house.

"Did you need some help?" asked Sota in concern.

"No, I'm just tired. I'll be okay in about six hours."

After Michael somehow made it up the stairs without killing himself, Sota turned to Kagome and asked, "Where are we staying if all our stuff is in England?"

"Leave that to me," she told him. She focused on the Shikon Jewel, asking it to restore their rooms. It complied eagerly. "Okay, everything's in our rooms."

Sota tore up the stairs and stopped in his doorway. "Wow, how did you do that?" he asked in astonishment.

"That's for me to know," she said mysteriously.

"Now why couldn't you have just done this for us? I mean, you could have done whatever you just did and made us appear here, right?"

"I thought about doing that, but it would have raised more problems. Kendal would have at least heard what was going on, and figured out that we were useful and he couldn't afford to lose us. But since we were gone, I only summoned our stuff here from his house, and messed up the rest of it."

"And that's supposed to help not track to us how?"

"Supposedly, we aren't anywhere near enough for him to think that we did it. He knows that I'll probably come back to Japan, or at least get far away from him. He'll think a witch destroyed his house, and no witch is strong enough that he knows of that can control that kind of power from the other side of the world."

Her brother looked nonplussed at the end of her explanation. "Okay, whatever you say." He turned to her and said, "You know, I'm not that tired."

"Yeah, me neither. I'll walk around the place again. Who knew you could miss it after being a few weeks away?"

"It never bothered you when you were in the Feudal Era."

"That was different. I still lived here. Come to think of it, we did kind of leave suddenly. I only left them a note saying that something came up and we were needed at home. I should see them."

"It's three in the morning. Don't you think that they won't be awake at this time?"

"Oh, yeah," she said sheepishly, putting a hand behind her head.

Sota facevaulted. _My sister can be such an idiot at times,_ he thought.

"Well, I'm going to look around. See you in a bit."

"Okay." He was already turning on the TV and putting one of his games in.

Walking around outside in the dark was something Kagome was used to by now. Inuyasha never seemed to want to stop looking for the shards before they defeated Naraku. He would always have to at some point because the humans in the group couldn't keep up with him. He never seemed to get the fact that humans needed more rest than he did until they had been together for a few years.

She didn't realize how she would miss him until she didn't think she would ever see him again. Those past weeks were pure torture. The thought of not being able to see them ever again was agony.

She found herself by the Goshinboku. Looking up, she could almost imagine Inuyasha up there. Wait! He _was_ up there. He looked like he was asleep, but it was hard to tell from down where she was.

"Inuyasha," she called softly. His ears moved in her direction, but that was it. She threw a rock at him, and unfortunately hit him in the head. He whirled around trying to see who threw the rock before seeing her. Realizing who it was, he fell out of tree in shock. Knowing that he had survived things more perilous than falling out of a tree, she ran to him anyway.

"Are you okay?" she asked, coming up to his fallen form.

"A rock, Kagome?" he asked.

"Well, I had no other way of waking you up."

"A rock, Kagome!" he repeated with more force.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't climb up the tree; it's too tall."

He glared at her for a moment, before embracing her. "You left us with only a note," he whispered in her ear. "You didn't even say good-bye."

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha, but something came up. Besides, with Hiei being taken-" Her breath caught in her throat. "He was like a son to me. I didn't even know him for all that long, and I still loved him." She started sobbing into his haori.

"I know. He was close to everyone." He started rubbing soothing circles around her back, like she did to Hiei when he was upset. He continued to hold her until her sobs subsided. "Come on, you need to be in bed." He picked her up and carried her up to her room via the tree outside her bedroom.

"Inuyasha," she called when he was about to leave. "Please stay with me."

He didn't know how to answer that. "Um, are you sure?"

"I really need to be with you right now. Besides, you didn't have a problem with it in the Feudal Era."

He cautiously climbed on the bed, staying on top of the covers. She sighed semi-happily and snuggled closer to him. Even though she had slept on the plane, Kagome was tired out emotionally, and fell asleep with Inuyasha right behind her.

It was the sun that finally woke her. Inuyasha was already gone. _Was that just a dream?_ she wondered, but then she saw her window open from their entry this morning. _Nope, he was here all right._ She quickly changed out of her wrinkled clothes and went downstairs. There she saw an interesting sight. Michael was staring at Inuyasha like he'd never seen a hanyou before, which he probably hadn't, and Inuyasha was staring at Michael, probably wondering what he was doing in this house. Robin and Sota were nowhere to be seen.

"Um, what's going on here?" she asked.

"Who is this?" asked Inuyasha, pointing at Michael.

"Oh, you don't know each other, do you? Well, Inuyasha, this is Michael. He's the reason that Sota and I were able to come back here. I'll tell you about that later. Michael, this is Inuyasha. He's a half-demon, but he's a friend of Robin's and mine. No, he isn't a witch."

They still stared at each other, not moving, until Robin came in. "Oh, you're awake. We were wondering what happened." Then she saw Inuyasha. "Oh, hi, Inuyasha. Nice to see you again."

"Hey, Robin, it's good to see you too. Is this Michael a friend of yours?"

"Yes, and he's the reason Kagome and Sota are back here." Since this was almost exactly what Kagome said, he accepted it.

"Oh, Michael," exclaimed Robin. "I just remembered. We have to register for school, and parents are supposed to do that."

"I'm on it," he said over his shoulder, already going over to the computer and typing.

"Don't forget to sign yourself up," Robin reminded him.

"Okay," he said a few minutes later, "we're zoned for Sarayashiki High School. It starts in a few weeks, so we're cutting it close, but they let us in."

"Oh, boy, we're now freshman," groaned Kagome.

"It won't be too bad," Robin reasoned.

"We'll see."


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm surprised I can still walk. Usually things don't get so intense at band camp, I mean, "Band Session 2". If you're watching a band perform at the football halftime, do you, as a member of the audience, look and say to yourself "That person's foot is planted at an angle; they must be getting ready to stop"? I know the staff is just being picky and trying to make us better, but my leg won't twist to a 90 angle from my body and stay there; it naturally turns out so it won't fall out of its socket. All you band members know exactly what I'm talking about. Sorry, I just had to rant a bit.**

**Fuyu Taki: I'm delighted that you're delighted. It's fun to make people happy; I don't know why that is, but that's one of life's mysteries. Hope you keep liking what I write.**

**Angel of Mercy: Welcome to the family! At the time I wrote the first story, I hadn't seen any Inuyasha/Witch Hunter Robin crossovers, so I thought I'd write one. That was about two years ago, though, so now I'm sure there's more. Anyway, I updated quickly. Happy? (puts away umbrella) Oh, what do you mean, what will happen to Robin?**

&&

They had to buy their books the day before school started. Inuyasha wasn't very happy about Kagome going to school again, but she ignored him, as usual. On the first day, they all walked together to the school. Saying good-bye to Michael, they walked to their first class.

They were lucky; all their classes were the same. Poor Michael was alone. They entered the classroom cautiously, not knowing what to expect. Robin, who had been raised in Italy, looked terrified of what was in there. She followed Kagome like a shadow while the miko greeted the teacher and asked where they were supposed to sit.

"Well," said Mr. Takenaka, "you may choose your own seating."

Kagome immediately went close to the back of the room, and Robin sat in the seat to her right. They started talking about what they were going to do about the shrine when the bell signaled that everyone should head for their classes. They saw a guy with orange hair styled a bit like Elvis' come in, followed by a girl that was hanging onto a different boy's ear, scolding him for wearing green instead of the school uniform, which was blue.

"But Keiko," the boy in green was saying, "that uniform looks absolutely hideous on me."

"I don't care, Yusuke, you're giving this class a bad name, and the school year hasn't even begun yet."

Four other girls came in, all talking about how this year was going to be so exciting. They didn't bother Mr. Takenaka about seats; they just waved and said, "Hey, Mr. Takenaka, miss us?"

"This is going to be another long year," he muttered.

The students kept coming in a steady stream. Finally the late bell rang, and a girl with a strange hairstyle, a bit like Robin's, but on top of her head, came rushing into the room. "I'm not late," she panted, red from running.

"I can see that, Ms. Tsukino. Now please take a seat."

The only seat left was behind Kagome. She took it, still out of breath. Mr. Takenaka stood up and spoke to the class in his deep voice. "Most of you had me last year. I see some new students, so I'll introduce myself. I am Mr. Takenaka. I taught at a middle school last year, then decided to move on to high school. Apparently a lot of the former students had the same idea." There was laughter around the room.

Then he started class. It could have been boring, but he made it interesting. Well, Kagome was always good in history, but she knew some teachers that would make it so that it was a struggle to stay awake, much less pay attention. Just about everyone paid attention to him, and he did his best to make history fun to learn. She was sorry when class ended.

She was especially sorry when her next class was Math and was taught by Mr. Iwamoto. He seemed to know the students too, and it was clear he didn't like them. His class was pure torture. Robin didn't seem to have a problem with it, though. _I'll have to ask her to help me when we get home,_ she thought.

After two more classes, it was finally lunchtime. Kagome and Robin took their bentos and chose a tree to sit under. Michael joined them soon after.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," commented Robin, her head leaning against the tree's trunk.

"True. Only, I think that Mr. Takenaka's class was the best so far," Kagome declared as she fished out a sandwich.

"Yes, his class was quite interesting. Math wasn't too bad."

"Wasn't too bad! I'm not good in math, and he didn't do a good job explaining what we're supposed to do!"

Robin looked over at her companion. "I'll help you with it. It's actually not that bad."

"Thank you. You're a lifesaver. What do have left?"

"Just English and Japanese. What about you, Michael?"

"I have Robotics and Chemistry."

"Ouch! Good luck!" exclaimed Kagome.

"Thanks, I'll need it," he responded.

"Did you make any friends?" asked Robin, wanting him to have someone he could talk to in class.

"There wasn't much time to get to know other people. Why, did you?"

They both shook their heads. They finished eating while they talked of their day so far. It was a bit sad when the bell rang, but they only had two classes left. Waving good-bye to Michael, who looked a bit forlorn, they walked to English class.

"Hey, Kagome," cried an annoyingly familiar voice.

Kagome put on a fake smile and turned to the person, saying, "Hojo! I didn't know you had English this period."

"Yeah. What do you have next period?"

"Japanese."

His face fell. "Darn, mine is Math. Do know if the teacher is hard?"

"He doesn't do a good job. I could barely understand him, and he gave out a lot of homework!"

"Geez, he sounds bad. Oh, well, I'll live. I'm just glad I have one class with you."

"Um, yeah, me too." _Thank goodness it's only one class and not more._

As they did in their other classes, Kagome and Robin took seats near the back. It felt like they stayed with the same classmates in every class. Those four girls were there, the late girl, the wannabe Elvis, the boy in green, and the girl who had him by the ear. Since there was only Japanese left, they would all have the same classes.

English was still hard for Kagome, but it seemed to be a breeze for Robin. She knew the language like it was her native one. "I was taught both English and Japanese at the same time," she later explained. "They weren't sure if I would be sent to the United States or Japan."

The next lesson, Japanese, was much better. She could answer these with ease. Pretty soon, their first day of school was over. They waited for Michael, who was a bit late due to the fact that what looked like rabid girls were clinging to him.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, looking nervously over his shoulder. "I don't know what that was about. Let's get home as soon as possible."

Robin remained quiet for most of the walk back to the shrine. _What's with her?_ Kagome wondered worriedly. _I know she's a quiet girl, but this is a little too quiet._ "Is everything all right?" she asked her silent friend.

Robin jerked her head up. "I'm sorry, could you repeat the question?"

"Is everything okay?" she asked again.

"Yes, everything's fine. Why wouldn't it be?"

Michael asked Kagome, "When is Sota coming home?"

"He'll come around, 4:30, I think."

"Okay, we'll be back before him. Good."

The rest of the walk was in silence.

&&

Yusuke Urameshi groaned. _Not another summons from the toddler._ He slumped behind Botan, the ever-cheerful Grim Reaper, and entered Koenma's office. He saw that Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei were already present. Kuwabara was standing at Koenma's desk, looking bored, and Kurama was leaning against the wall, as was Hiei.

Yusuke, already mad that Koenma was making him miss his date with Keiko, stalked over to the toddler's desk, put his hands on either side of whatever Koenma was doing, and snarled in his face, "What do you want!"

"Believe me, Yusuke, if I didn't think this was necessary, I wouldn't have called you here."

"Is it another mission?" asked the quiet Kurama, trying to avoid a scene.

"No, I'm afraid not. It's much bigger."

"How much bigger?" asked a cross Yusuke.

"My father is making his own Spirit Detective, and he wants him to work with you guys on some things."

Kuwabara, being the baka he was, asked stupidly, "Why does your dad want to have another Spirit Detective? Are we not good enough or something?"

"You hit it right on the nose. He doesn't trust Kurama or Hiei, and wants someone of his choice watching them."

"So we have to take this guy with us every time we go on a mission, is that what I'm hearing?" demanded Yusuke angrily.

"Not exactly. He answers to my father. He will be joining you on some missions, but by no means all. He's coming here right now, so please be on your best behavior. My father will take any excuse to get rid of all of you."

At that moment, the door opened, and a boy around their age walked through. "You must be the Reikai Tantei that King Yama was talking about. I'm Tanner."

Koenma stood up in his chair and said, "Welcome, Tanner. You already know me, so I'll introduce you to the rest of the bunch. This is Kuwabara, Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama."

As he pointed to them, they acknowledged him in some way. Yusuke and Kuwabara just said "Hi", and Kurama gave his usual "Pleased to meet you". Hiei didn't bother with acknowledgements.

Something clicked in Yusuke's mind when he saw Tanner, but he couldn't figure out what. Then it hit him. "You go to school with us."

Tanner looked shocked for a second before saying, "Yes, I remember you. You're the guy in the green, right?"

"Yep, that's me."

"Are you through?" asked Koenma crossly. "Okay, that's all I wanted you for, boys."

Yusuke ran through the door, thinking, _Keiko is sooo going to kill me for doing this to her again._

&&

Koenma stopped Hiei from leaving. "There's something I need you to do," he said.

"Well, tell me already," stated Hiei in his cold voice.

"There has been a lot of spiritual activity in a place called the Higurashi Shrine. Three people that live there go to Yusuke's school, but I need you to scope them out. There's two girls and a boy. I don't thing the boy has anything to do with it, so focus on the girls. Can you do that?"

"Of course I can do that. A simpleton could do that. If that is all?" He vanished before Koenma could add anything else. _Ooooh, that Hiei! He drives me up the wall! If only he had a better attitude._

&&

Hiei jumped through the trees and thought about his new assignment. _Higurashi, huh? Why does that name sound so familiar? I'm positive that I knew a Higurashi once, long ago._ Then it hit him why that name was so familiar. _It can't be! They could be Kagome's descendants! I have to see for myself._ Changing direction, he made his way to where Yusuke lived, hoping that the delinquent would know where this shrine was.

&&


	4. Chapter 4

**I survived Band Camp! Two weeks of seeing the same people for seven hours a day, and sweating gallons of water, and now it's over! I now have a bad tan to show for my troubles, but it'll go away once marching season is over.**

**Fuyu Taki: I, myself, am not very knowledgeable of Yu Yu Hakusho, so I'll just use what parts I know. This'll be interesting. Hiei, emotionless wonder, meets his surrogate mother. Oh, yes, that'll definitely be interesting.**

&&

Yusuke was very surprised to find Hiei waiting for him when he got home. The little fire demon was almost dancing from one foot to the other with impatience.

"Where have you been?" Hiei demanded.

"Um, I was out with Keiko," he replied slowly. "Something you need?"

"Koenma has given me an extra assignment. Do you know where the Higurashi Shrine is?"

"Yeah, it's that way." He pointed in the direction of the shrine. "It's within walking distance. Did you want some company?"

"Does it matter whether I want it or not?" he asked.

"Nope, not really," said Yusuke cheerfully, receiving death glares from the little Koorime.

&&

Half an hour later, the Spirit Detective and the fire demon were at the base of the steep steps of the shrine. "Man, no wonder those girls are in such good shape," Yusuke panted, sitting down on the bottom step.

"What girls?" asked Hiei.

"The ones that live here. They're in all my classes. I think there's a sophomore that lives here too, but I'm not sure."

"Hn. See you at the top, Detective." The climb wasn't too much for Hiei. All he did was jump over the stairs and he was at the top. Looking around, he noticed how many old buildings there were. A door opened and out stepped a boy. He didn't look like Kagome, but you never know.

The boy turned to him and said, "Welcome to the Higurashi Shrine. Can I help you with something?"

Hiei, a bit unprepared for talking, said, "I was just looking around. I once knew a Higurashi, and wondered if they still lived here."

"They sold the place, but two of them came back. You can meet them if you want."

"No, that's fine. I'll just look around, if that's okay."

The boy shrugged, then smiled. "Look away. Just be careful around some of the buildings." He left Hiei and went down the stairs.

He heard him find Yusuke, who was trying to climb up the steep stairs.

Ignoring them, he walked around, looking at what was put up. There were a lot more buildings than he first thought. Eventually losing himself in the maze of sheds, he found himself looking at a tree. Again, his memory was triggered by the enormous Goshinboku. _I remember this,_ he thought excitedly. _It was in Inuyasha's Forest, next to the Bone Eater's Well. They all told me to stay away from it because it was dangerous. Yes, this whole place used to be Inuyasha's Forest!_

He looked up and still saw where Inuyasha would perch in its branches. He could almost see him up there. Then he shook his head. _They are all dead. Shippo might be alive, but he would be the only one. I never did see them again. I wonder how they were when I was taken?_ He did miss them. It was because of them that he began to grow cold, more aloof from the other thieves. They eventually threw him out because of his attitude. He had tried to find a way back to them, but he couldn't. So he fought for a living.

He turned away from the Goshinboku. _There's no point in visiting memories. They won't come back, no matter what you do._ This thought almost made him cry. Almost. He didn't cry; he stopped years ago. He wouldn't start again now. More somber, he walked past Yusuke, who had just made it to the top. "I'm done here for now. Thanks for showing the way."

He ignored Yusuke's plea to wait. If he stayed, he might actually cry from all the memories here; his best memories.

&&

_Hiei's acting strange,_ thought Yusuke, watching the fire demon walk away. _I could have sworn he looked sad. But that's just not Hiei._

"Can I help you?" asked a voice from behind him. He spun around and came face-to-face with one of his classmates, Robin Smith.

"Um, I was here with someone, but then he decided to leave. So I'll have to do the sight-seeing on my own."

"Did you want a tour?" she asked.

"Sure, a tour would be great!" _Now what have I gotten myself into?_

She gave him a tour of the whole place. He never would have dreamed that this place was so _big_! And only she, Kagome, Sota, and Michael lived here.

"So, if there's only four of you, who runs this place when you're in school?"

"We have to close it. But when the schools start coming for field trips, the principal has given us permission to skip school, and will gladly give us volunteers to help out."

"How often will they come?"

"We already have a few scheduled, and Mr. Takenaka has offered to let his classes come on a field trip sometime. Would you be willing to come?"

"Sure! I'll even help out."

"I didn't think you liked doing that kind of thing."

"Well, it's part of school, so Keiko won't yell at me, and I won't have to sit in class. This is great!"

She smiled at his enthusiasm. "Well, feel free to come in three weeks. We're expecting our first field trip then."

"Yes!"

&&

The next weeks went by in a flash. Just about everyone wanted to help out. Of course, most of them wanted to do it for the same reason Yusuke did, but each person helped. The Sunday before the first field trip, the 'tour guides' were shown what they would show the people. The Bone Eater's Well was off limits (one guess why) and so was the house. Everything else was shown. The other helpers would sell souvenirs and refreshments next to exhibits. Michael and Robin set up the refreshment and souvenir booths with the students who would man them, and Kagome showed the path of the tour.

The helpers arrived bright and early, and everything was set up except for the food and drinks. That was taken care of quickly enough. Now all that was needed was the students.

&&


	5. Chapter 5

**I had some spare time on my hands, so I figured I'd post the next one.**

&&

_How did I get into this?_ wondered Hiei for the fifteenth time. Kurama somehow got him to go with him on a field trip to the Higurashi Shrine. The fox didn't know that Hiei was on a mission that involved that shrine; he just knew that Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Keiko were working there and thought that it would be a good time to visit. As if Hiei ever visited with those ningens. But somehow, Kurama made him come.

When they pulled in front of the steps, a lot of the students groaned. It really was a long climb, almost more like a hike. "You will walk like the rest of us," warned the drop-dead gorgeous Kurama, who was probably thinking of how much this hike would hurt.

"Hn. It's not my fault that you can't jump to the top," Hiei said smugly.

"You're impossible, Hiei," Kurama muttered. He got no response. However, Hiei did walk up the stairs with him. _I feel bad for those humans now,_ he thought as he tried to move his pain-ridden legs. _I'm never doing that again. I don't care how much he begs._

Looking around, he saw lots of students from Sarayashiki High and Meiou High, Kurama's school. He wandered, a bit lost since all these tall humans were blocking his view. Unexpectedly, he ran into someone and paper flew everywhere.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said a familiar voice he couldn't place.

He helped her pick up the paper and looked at her for the first time. And froze. _It-it can't be!_ It was an exact replica of Robin Sena, one of the people he considered parents over four hundred years ago. _No_ he shook his head sadly. _Everyone is dead by now. There is no way that this is Robin Sena._

"It was my fault," he heard himself saying. _What am I doing?_ "I was the one that ran into you. Please forgive me."

"Oh, that's no problem. I just have to get these papers into the house." She looked like she was struggling with holding all those stacks. Again, his mouth said things his mind didn't tell it to say.

"Did you need help?" he asked, wondering frantically who was controlling his mouth; it most certainly wasn't him!

The look of gratitude she gave him almost made his heart of ice melt. Not quite, but almost.

As he took some stacks from her, she led him towards the house. "You're from Meioh High, aren't you?" she asked.

"Um, yes," he answered, telling himself he wasn't really lying since he did come with the Meioh students.

"What do you think so far of the place?"

"Well," he said, thinking fast, "it's interesting. It reminds me of a place that I once knew of."

"Same here. Now, can you put those papers on that table?" She pointed to a table set up in the kitchen.

He complied, while asking, "Do you know if you're descended from a person that once lived here around five centuries ago? Her name was Robin Sena."

The girl stiffened. Turning slowly, she said, "I don't know. Why?"

"Just curious. I had heard that a girl named Robin Sena once lived near here. Or rather, a village near here. There wasn't anything right here back then except the Goshinboku, the Bone Eater's Well, and Inuyasha's Forest."

The girl had gone paler with each word. "Well," she said weakly, "you sure do know your history. Exactly how much does your history teacher know about this?"

"The teacher doesn't know much of anything about this. I did background reading."

"How much do you know?"

"Robin Sena lived in the time of the Shikon no Tama. She traveled with the other shard hunters: Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kagome. I saw a picture of her, and I thought you might be one of her descendants. I also thought that since this is the Higurashi Shrine, a descendant of Kagome Higurashi would be here still."

She stood still for a moment before slapping her head with her hand. "I have to go get more drinks! Thank you for your help. Keep up the history learning."

"What's you name?" he asked curiously, considering coming back for a visit, and not for the mission.

"Robin Smith," she replied before running out into the crowd.

_Robin Smith._ Her words floated back to him. _She looks remarkably like Robin Sena. Maybe she's Robin's descendent. That has to be it._ At that time, Kurama found him.

"There you are!" he called. "We were looking for you. What have you been doing all this time?"

"I was looking around," Hiei replied coolly, not wanting to talk.

"It's time for you to stop being antisocial and talk with the rest of us."

"It's none of your business what I do and what I don't do." Hiei was beginning to get a little ticked at the kitsune for trying to butt in on what he did when he didn't work with the rest of them.

"Come on, Hiei," Kurama pleaded with him, giving him the puppy look.

_He really has to stop doing that._ "Hn." He followed Kurama back to where Yusuke and Kuwabara were working. Of course, he got bored and started letting his eyes wander around the place. _Why did I come here?_ he wondered yet again. _I have better things to do with my time._

&&

Kagome was finishing up with her tour when Robin came tearing out of nowhere and almost ran her over. "That's the tour. Enjoy the rest of you day," she said cheerfully to the students, then turned to Robin, who was bent over, trying to catch her breath. "What's wrong? Is the STN here?"

"No, no, nothing like that," she gasped. "There was a boy from Meioh High that knew a whole lot about this place. I don't mean like general stuff, he knew about the Shikon Jewel, Inuyasha, the others, just things that aren't in history books."

"Robin, we're learning about the history of the Shikon Jewel right now in school, what's wrong with someone from a different school learning it?"

"That's not what I mean!" she shrieked, or would have if she had enough breath to do it. "He knew names, and some of the names of the shard hunters were never mentioned in the books."

"How do you know all this?" asked Kagome, putting her hands on her hips.

"We ran into each other. I couldn't see where I was going because I had piles of paper in front of me, and he helped me pick them up and put them in the house. Then he asked me if I was a descendant of Robin Sena, a girl that lived in a village not far from here. History books say that the Higurashi Shrine is made where the old village once stood, but he knew it wasn't. This place was built over Inuyasha's Forest."

That got Kagome's attention. "Who is he?"

"I never asked his name. I had to run and do something and I could only give him my name."

"What does he look like?"

"He's short, about four foot ten, has black hair, some with white tips, red eyes, and is dressed in the Meioh High uniform."

"I see. I don't know if there's anything we can do about it except keep an eye out. He could be a demon who had a relative or something that we had to get rid of and is now looking for revenge."

"I doubt it. He was so nice about helping me. He might just want to know what actually happened back then. It's possible."

"Actually, I think your idea is more probable than mine. We'll go with that for now."

They went back to help the food groups. Robin went to the farthest inside the grounds, and Kagome checked the ones near the entrance. After checking a few, she saw Yusuke and Kuwabara talking to two boys from Meioh High School. She assumed this since she didn't recognize either of them, and they wore the school uniform of Meioh High. The shorter of the two fit Robin's description perfectly. Well, she couldn't see the front of him, but she assumed it was him.

"Hey, how are things going here, guys?" she asked Yusuke and Kuwabara, walking up to them.

"Things are good," responded Yusuke, giving her a thumbs-up. "We were just talking to some friends of ours from, uh, where are you guys from?"

The tall guy answered him, "Meioh High."

"Right, that's it!" Yusuke snapped his fingers. "Meioh High School."

Kagome still couldn't see what either of the two guys looked like except their backs. "Welcome to the Higurashi Shrine. Who are you two?"

The tall redhead turned. "My name is Shuichi Minamino. This is Hiei Jaganshi."

_Hiei…_ she tried not to let her tears come, and introduced herself. "My name is Kagome Higurashi. I lived here my whole life with my younger brother Sota, my mom, and Grandpa. Grandpa and Mom are gone now to England, so we live here with Michael and Robin."

The shorter person spun around at her name, his red eyes wide with shock. _He even looks like my Hiei. No! Can't think about that. If I do, the waterworks will start._

The little guy was speaking. "You wouldn't be descended from a girl named Kagome Higurashi, would you? She lived around five centuries ago."

"Um," said Kagome, caught off-guard, "I'm not sure. Why, are you studying the history of the Shikon no Tama?"

"I'm learning about it on my own. Do you know anything about that time period?"

"You wouldn't believe what I know about its story. I don't have time to really go into it in detail right now, but feel free to drop by another time, and I'll tell you. If I'm not home, Robin, whom you already met, can tell you instead."

"I would be much obliged."

"Anytime. Sorry to bother you. Carry on."

&&


	6. Chapter 6

**Angel of Mercy: Yes, I'll be pairing her up with someone. Will the STN find her…maybe. I've updated sooner than usual; does that mean I escaped your wrath this time?**

**Fuyu Taki: Smith is an alias. If she uses her real name, they'd be able to find her in an instant. Hiei, Kagome, and Robin won't find out about each other for some time. I just like doing things like that. It's not very realistic for Hiei to believe that those are the same women; they're mortal. The other two won't know it's him because he was taken to Makai, and he was probably killed while over there.**

&&

Yet another surprise for Hiei. He was still in shock as he watched her walk away. _Robin AND Kagome? It must be their descendants. They look exactly like them; they even sound exactly like them._

"Hey, Earth to Hiei, do you copy?" Yusuke was shouting at him.

"What?" he asked, still not focused on anything but Kagome's retreating back.

"What's going on? You ask her if she's the descendant of someone, then space out!"

"It's true, Hiei," said Kurama. "That isn't your normal behavior. Why did you ask her all those question?"

"If you must know, I was alive during the time of the Shikon no Tama. For a few months, I was raised by the guardians of the Jewel. It was even shown to me. She looked like the Kagome Higurashi who showed me the jewel."

Kurama frowned. "I was also alive in the time of the Jewel. Yes, I remember now. She does look like the guardian of the Jewel. She was the one that shot me," he explained to the others.

"So you both know about the Shikon Jewel. Cool, we're learning about its history right now," exclaimed Yusuke. "You two could help us."

"Or," pointed out the former fox, "we could all come here and they could help us."

"Great! When can we do this? Anyone have a day?"

They chose Friday, which was in four days. _As if I'll wait that long before coming,_ thought Hiei.

"Hey, Kuwabara, our shift's over," shouted Yusuke happily. "Let's go check this place out!"

&&

Serena Tsukino was working the drinks' booth mechanically. Normally, she was a happy-go-lucky kind of person, but that changed last night.

−Flashback−

She had been summoned to Ray's home for another Sailor Scout meeting. She was late, as usual. The others were sitting in their spots in the meeting room, talking quietly. Strangely enough, Darien Chiba, the cats, and the Outer Senshi were there too. Darien and the Outers rarely made it to these meetings, and the cats were silent, not looking at each other. _This doesn't look good. What happened?_

Ray, her best friend, stood up when Serena entered. She looked at her sadly and announced, "Serena, we have bad news."

"What's wrong?" asked Serena, ever concerned for her fellow Senshi.

She hesitated. That was never a good sign; Ray spoke the truth, whether it was painful or not. Biting her lip, she whispered, "We think you need to give up being Sailor Moon."

Serena looked at her in shock. "Nani? Why? I know I've been a ditz, but have I been that bad a leader?"

"We think it's time you took a break. A permanent one." That was Amara; if she'd entertained any doubts about them joking about this, those two sentences shattered them.

"But what about me and Darien? What about Rini?" Serena asked, referring to her future daughter.

"She isn't your daughter. She's mine," Mina corrected her sadly. "Serena, I really would like for you to remain, but you've made too many mistakes, and you've endangered Crystal Tokyo too many times. We can't let you ruin the future with your mistakes. I'm sorry. We'll need your things."

_I don't want to give up being Sailor Moon. Still, I can see how I've endangered the future they're talking about. Maybe they're right._ Serena handed over her wand and her watch, but she kept the Silver Crystal.

"That too, Serena," said Mina, holding out her hand.

She almost gave it up, but it still called to her soul. "No," she said firmly. "This Crystal was entrusted to me, and I will keep it till the day I die."

"Serena," warned Darien, "my future wife needs that Crystal."

"I'm sorry, but I can't give it up. Mina may be your future wife, but I am still the Princess of the Moon, and will keep this, if not my Sailor Moon persona."

Spinning around, she ran out the door. To her surprise, no one followed her. Creeping back, she listened at the window. Risking being seen, she peeked in. Everyone looked downcast.

"I never would've believed how hard that was," sighed Mina.

"You did what needed to be done," Amara stated. "We really can't have her running around and ruining things."

"She did her share in saving us, though."

"Most of the time she was the reason we needed saving," Ray joined the conversation. "Without her, we'll be able to get things done quicker, and we won't have so many injuries by the time it's done."

"She took my Crystal, though," Mina said, her mouth frowning.

"It does belong to the Moon Princess," Michelle reminded her.

"But if I'm Darien's wife, doesn't that make me the Moon Princess?"

"That's right," Ray mused. "How will we get it back from her? Even if Mina didn't need it, I can think of a number of ways that it would get her into trouble, and we'd need to save her again."

Darien, Serena's boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend, sighed. "I can use my Gold Crystal and call the Ginzuishou to me."

"But can't she do the same thing?" asked Ami.

"Yes, but she doesn't know that."

Amara stood up. "I'm out of here. Call me if you need anything."

"Wait for me," called Michelle. They walked out with Hotaru, the Senshi of Silence.

Lita sighed. "This is what she wants, right?" she asked the others.

"Even if it isn't, we still need her out of the way," said Ray, trying to sound like she believed it, and failing. "She's been complaining about being Sailor Moon ever since she started. Now she got her wish. Unfortunately, there's a good chance that she'll be attacked and won't be able to defend herself now. I'm afraid the best way to make sure she's a less-likely target is to stay away from her whenever possible."

"I don't see how that would protect her, though."

"If our enemies find out who we are, they'll go after the people we're close to. Since Serena can't transform into Sailor Moon anymore, she's vulnerable. If she's attacked, she might fight back, but without her powers, she'll go down easily. We all know how she is; she might even kill herself instead of killing the attacker. I think it would be best to stay away from her from now on."

Serena didn't wait to hear more. She ran as fast as she could towards her home. Reaching it, she sobbed into her pillow. _Why? I've never intentionally tried to hurt them. I never ostracized them when they made a mistake._

Tears were still pouring down her face when she felt an outside force trying to call the Silver Crystal. _He's calling it. I won't let him!_ She held onto it and focused on the Gold Crystal, trying to summon it to her. Through the Silver Crystal, she felt his surprise, then a massive pull on the crystal. She sent her own force out, not giving up her crystal.

Their struggle went on for hours. It was well past midnight when it stopped. She was growing desperate. She knew he was stronger, and she was failing. As a last resort, she gathered all of her strength and threw it at him. Not expecting this, he let go, and his crystal floated in front of her. She stared at it, not sure what to do with it. The Ginzuishou started pulsing. _What?_ Taking it out, she saw the Gold Crystal float towards the Silver one. When the two of them touched, they fused together, one side, silver; the other, gold.

−End Flashback−

Serena wore the Crystal around her neck, but it was tucked into her shirt where others couldn't see it. She wore a fake smile for people to see, but the Inners knew she was very hurt by their actions, and to make it easier for all of them, they worked away from her; on the other side of the grounds, to be exact.

When her shift was done, she wandered around, not really taking in anything. That was when she walked by a giant tree. The Goshinboku, Robin had called it. Going closer to it, she felt peaceful. She would have been happy to stay there all day, except she saw Robin struggling with some heavy boxes of food. _I might as well help,_ she thought, going over to her.

&&

Robin was surprised to see the late girl, Serena Tsukino, offer to help her out with the food. However, she did need the help, and accepted her offer. Serena didn't seem like herself today. She was more downcast, more melancholy.

"Is something wrong?" she asked kindly, concerned for the other girl.

"My friends don't want anything to do with me anymore," she mumbled.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Robin was silent, waiting to see if she would elaborate.

"I didn't even do anything to them!" Serena finally burst out. "I tried my best, and it's still not good enough! What more can I do?"

"It doesn't sound like they were very good friends," Robin said carefully.

"I guess I can't really blame them. After all, I am a crybaby that can't do anything right," she added bitterly.

Robin could see that her hands were starting to shake, and was afraid for the food that Serena was carrying. "Um, you know what, Serena? How about we take a small break before we drop these heavy boxes," she suggested, trying to save the food.

It was too late. Serena's hands were shaking so much that they dropped what they were holding. The astonishing thing was that they still were in the air. They both looked at the levitating boxes without comprehending what exactly they were seeing for a second.

Robin turned to Serena. "Did you do that?" she asked.

She looked at Robin and shook her head. "I don't know. I didn't want the boxes to fall, so I made the air catch it."

_This day has been so strange._ "Have you done that before?"

"No. Well, yes, sort of. I've been able to see and control the air for a while now. I never did it in front of anyone before, though."

_First Kagome, now Serena, who's next?_ "Um, when we get these to where they need to be, I need to talk to you."

Serena looked scared, but nodded anyway. They took the boxes to where they needed to be, and Robin pulled Serena over to an inconspicuous spot.

"You've been very lucky so far. If you use those powers in public, there's an organization that will come and take you away. I don't want to scare you, but I don't want you to be taken. I've seen what they do to caught people."

"I don't know what you're saying," whispered Serena, wondering if Robin was all right in the head.

"I used to work for a group called the STN-J. They capture witches, people with powers like yours, because they think they're a danger to society."

"How do they find out who's a witch? How can they tell?"

"They have eyes that can see, and they used to have Michael. He lives here with me and the Higurashis now. But if they ever see you use your powers, they'll take you away, and most likely your family, too, if you still live with them."

"Oh, thanks for the warning."

Robin smiled wanly. "Anytime. Just don't use your Craft in public, and you'll be fine."

&&


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, school starts tomorrow, and since y'all were pretty good, I'll keep my promise and put up two chapters. This might be the last you hear from me until Saturday or Sunday. If the teachers don't give homework tomorrow, I can put up another one then. We'll have to see.**

**animefanatic-9877: So glad you like the first story. That's the first one I put up, so it's kinda my baby. Hope you like the rest of the stories.**

**Fuyu Taki: I'm not sure how many series this is going to crossover. I just felt like adding them, so I did.**

**Angel of Mercy: Don't cry! I'm updating! This story is basically how Hiei gets back in touch with his family. Or doesn't. He's such a loner, and he hasn't even told Yukina that he's her brother, so maybe he'll stay away from them to protect them.**

**Angel452: Yeah, I know the Sailor Moon part isn't the most believable part. I couldn't think of a different way to do it. It's not the best; maybe someday I'll go back and fix it. For now, it serves its purpose of severing Serena from them. Kagome's mother is worrying about her children while waiting for her new baby to be born. Tai is helping (reluctantly). We won't be seeing much of them for a while. We'll see what happens with Hiei, Robin, and Kagome.**

&&

Kagome flopped onto one of the couches, as did Robin and Michael. "We survived our first day of field trip hosting. Go us!" shouted Kagome.

Robin and Michael only had the strength to lift their heads slightly and smile at her. _That was actually fun,_ thought Michael. "I think that if we could get some of the helpers to dress up like people from the Feudal Era, it would help add to the atmosphere," said Michael. Just then Sota came down and, looking at them, shook his head.

"You guys are already tired after just one day?" he asked in disbelief. "I can't wait to see what you look like at the end of the week."

"I'd better start on dinner," sighed Robin, slowly getting up. She accidentally brushed Michael, making him shiver with pleasure. She didn't notice, though. He watched her stumble to the kitchen, leaning on Sota to get there.

"You like her, don't you?" said Kagome slyly.

"What?" asked Michael, not really paying attention to what she was saying.

"You like Robin. I've seen the way you look at her. You're in love."

"Um…" He couldn't think of something to come after that.

"Hah! I knew it! You know, if you ask her out, I think there's a good chance she'll say yes."

"I doubt it," he replied. "She doesn't know how I feel, and even if she did, I don't think she feels the same way. After all, she was able to see the world, and meet all sorts of guys that are better than me. I was rarely outside once I started working with Zaizen."

"I think she does like you. And if she's met all those boys from around the world, she would know that you're one of the better ones. Trust me, it's hard finding a guy that respects you."

He didn't respond. Staring at the ceiling, he wondered if what Kagome said was true.

&&

Hiei was greatly annoyed when Botan, that ever-cheerful deity of death, showed up. Of course, he was more annoyed with her than normal.

He was asleep in a tree, dreaming about his "family" back in the time of the Shikon no Tama, when Botan came looking for him. She knew where his general location was, but not the exact one. So she brought along the whistle. It was Hell made into a small shape, in Hiei's opinion. When she couldn't find him just by looking around for a brief moment, she blew the thing. Hard. The whistle was designed for only demons to hear, and it was made to sound shrill and to try and break their eardrums. Hiei, not expecting to be woken in such a rude manner, fell out of the tree with his hands over his ears.

Botan noticed the fall and the new crater that had a Hiei in the center of it. "There you are," she said happily. "I'm glad I found you. Koenma wants to see you." She flew back up into the sky on her little canoe paddle.

Muttering death threats to Botan for using that whistle and Koenma for making her go get him up with the whistle, he arrived in Spirit World.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"Aren't we cranky today," responded Koenma. "This is about your mission. It involves the Shikon no Tama. It disappeared around five centuries ago, and we have discovered that some of the strange aura around the Higurashi Shrine is its power. Apparently, it decided to show up again. It must like the Higurashi line, because the last person to control it was Kagome Higurashi, and now another Kagome Higurashi guards it."

"You woke me up to tell me that!" Hiei asked incredulously. "I don't believe this."

While he continued to mutter, Koenma started speaking again. "You need to hurry and find out why there's so much Spirit activity going on at that shrine. Today, to be exact."

"Why today?"

"Tomorrow my dad's sending Tanner to see what's going on."

"Fine. I'll see what I can do. Oh," he tossed over his shoulder, "never wake me with that whistle from Hell again."

"There's no other way to wake you up and live!" wailed Koenma. "We wouldn't have to use it if you didn't try and slice up whoever woke you."

&&


	8. Chapter 8

**Second chapter of the day, as promised.**

&&

Yusuke was quickly walking toward the place that Keiko said she wanted to meet him. He couldn't think of what the reason was for, unless she wanted to pummel him for missing their last date because of Koenma. Again. Seeing her waiting for him, he slowed down and walked up to her.

"Hey, Keiko," he began but she cut him off.

"Yusuke, I don't think this is going to work out."

He was clueless as to what she was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"You and me. I don't think we can go out anymore. Your job is taking you away from me, and while I can't do anything about that, I think it would be for the best if we didn't go out anymore."

He was not expecting this. "Keiko, I can work it out, I promise. I'll tell Koenma that I can't do so much."

She was already shaking her head. "Your job is important; you're protecting our world, after all. But it's too much. You'll find some other girl that will wait. I'm sorry Yusuke, but I'm not that kind of girl." Tears were in her eyes now. "I don't want to hurt you, but… I'm going with someone else from now on. And you'll find someone better."

"You say you don't want to hurt me, but you already have," he said neutrally, and started walking away. "Good-bye, Keiko," he whispered.

When he was a good ways from where she was, his own tears started flowing. He made no effort to stop them. He didn't care where he was, he just walked, his head down in sorrow. The only thing running through his mind was Keiko's voice, repeating, _"I'm going with someone else from now on…"_ He didn't even realize how far he had walked until he had arrived at the foot of the Higurashi Shrine. Still in a daze, he started the long climb up. He wasn't aware that a pair of red demon eyes watched his progress.

&&

Hiei was surprised to see Yusuke trekking up the long flights of stairs to the shrine. He could smell salt water, but it was more than just sweat. The boy was actually crying. That didn't happen every day. He watched Yusuke's progress until he reached the top. Then he decided that his own mission could wait and joined Yusuke. He didn't even look up.

"Something the matter, Detective?" he asked the gloomy ningen.

"Leave me alone, Hiei," snapped the despondent boy.

"Well, I would except you don't seem to be yourself at the moment. A demon could come and attack you, and you probably wouldn't notice until you were completely digested; maybe not even then."

"Look, Hiei, I appreciate you concern," he said sarcastically, "but I just want to be alone right now."

"Sorry Detective, but no can do," was Hiei's response. By then they were under the Goshinboku. Hiei had deliberately steered them this way because he knew and felt the tree's calming power. Sure enough, Yusuke's tears slowly stopped flowing.

"She dumped me," he said in a monotone. "She said that I was too busy saving the world to spend time with her, so she dumped me."

"I'm surprised she didn't do it sooner," remarked Hiei. "She stayed with you for longer than I would have thought possible."

"I don't get it. Why would she wait for all this time, then dump me now?"

"It could be that Tanner fellow."

Yusuke grabbed the front of the fire demon's shirt, lifted him off the ground, and demanded, "What do you know about that?"

Hiei escaped Yusuke's fists with his lightning speed. "When Kurama dragged me here yesterday, I wandered around and saw them. I wasn't really paying much attention, but I saw them laughing together. Then they kissed each other. That was all I saw of them, but I thought you ought to know."

"And you didn't tell me this because…?" Yusuke trailed off dangerously, murder in his eyes.

"I didn't see you after that. This was after your shift was over, and you and the buffoon went off somewhere. Kurama was looking at something he was considering to buy for his mother. I really didn't want to be with the fox on a shopping spree, and since you two were gone, I went off by myself."

Yusuke fell to his knees, his head bent, and a fresh wave of tears came. "She had already kissed that guy and she hadn't told me," he said, not wanting to believe it.

_I don't believe this. I actually feel bad for this guy._ Hiei sat next to the grieving Yusuke. _I must be getting soft. I never would have done this a hundred years ago. Maybe all the reminders of my old family are making me soft. I don't know anymore. And now I'm talking to myself. If that isn't a sign of insanity, I don't know what is. So stop talking to yourself. I will. Stop it! Okay! AAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!_

He looked at Yusuke, whose tears were now staining the ground. "Come, Yusuke, we can't spend the rest of the day here waiting for you to dehydrate because you cried too much."

He startled Yusuke, who probably thought that he had left already. Then Yusuke startled him by saying, "Thanks, Hiei."

"What for?" the poor Koorime asked in confusion.

"For being there."

"Come," he repeated, "I didn't come here to watch you cry. Koenma gave me the job of finding out why there is so much Spiritual activity. I only have today because King Yama is sending Tanner tomorrow." At the sound of the name that stole his girlfriend, Yusuke growled.

"Then let's find out while we have time," stated Yusuke, wiping away the traces of his tears.

They approached the house cautiously, not sure if anyone was there. Yusuke rang the doorbell, and it was answered by Michael.

"Can I help you?"

Yusuke spoke up. "I'm a classmate of Kagome and Robin's, and they offered to help me with the time of the Shikon no Tama, since that's what we're learning in history. Are they home?"

Michael stepped back, allowing them to enter the house. "Yeah, I'll go get them. Just go in there." He pointed at the living room. "They'll be down shortly."

Sure enough, they were down in a few seconds. Kagome was the first to speak. "We weren't expecting you so soon. What can we do for you?"

"We wanted to know more about the Shikon Jewel," said Hiei in a warmer voice than he normally uses.

"Okay, like what?"

"Where is it now?"

"It disappeared almost five hundred years ago. Why?"

Hiei could tell Kagome was lying, but he would wait for Yusuke to not be there before he confronted them. "How did it disappear?"

"When Kagome Higurashi died, it disappeared. It is said that her spirit took it with her to Heaven."

They sat and talked for a bit until Yusuke, realizing it was almost nine o'clock, had to run out the door. "My mom really needs help now with the twins. Her new husband's at work, so she's relying on me to help out."

_I didn't know Yusuke even cared about his mother. Maybe she changed since she married that guy three years ago._ They watched Yusuke charge out the door. Hiei stood then, saying, "I have to go too. Mother'll probably be worried."

He felt bad about lying to them, but he would check the place out first before questioning them. After they had shut the door, he leaped into the trees and searched for a strange aura around one of the buildings. There was definitely one around the house, the Goshinboku, and the building where the Bone Eater's Well was. The first two he could understand, but the Bone Eater's Well was something else. Curiously, he approached it. Nothing stopped him from opening the door.

Once inside, there was only a well. Nothing else. _What is making that aura?_ Looking around, there was nothing else to give off such an aura. _I don't have time to check out the whole place. I'll tell Koenma I can still look, but I won't be able to figure it out tonight._ He exited the building, closed the door, and sped off into the night.

&&

"They seem to be nice boys," Robin said. "Yusuke seemed a little upset, though."

"Yeah, I wonder what's wrong?" wondered Kagome.

"We'll probably find out tomorrow."

"True enough. Let's get some sleep now."

Robin paused before heading for the study. "I need to make sure Michael hasn't fallen asleep at the computer again. I'll check on Sota while I'm at it."

"Thanks," called Kagome from her room.

Sota was closer, so she checked on him first. Sure enough, he was playing one of those electronic games of his. "It's time for bed, Sota," she said. She knew better now than to leave before he turned off the game and crawled into bed.

Next came Michael. And just as she guessed, he was asleep at the computer, his head in his arms. She smiled at how much he looked like he did when they still worked for the STN-J. Neither of them had changed much. Well, Michael was more tan since he saw the sun more, but other than that, they hadn't changed much at all.

She knelt beside his sleeping form and whispered in his ear, "You don't have to sleep at the computer anymore. You have a bed now."

He stirred, but didn't wake. _What is it with guys being heavy sleepers?_ She asked herself. She shook him a little, saying, "Come on, Michael, I don't want to have to carry you to your room again. You're too heavy."

He groggily opened one eye. She could tell he was still asleep, and probably wouldn't remember moving from the computer to his room, but if he could just get there she would be happy. "Don't want to move," he mumbled, almost unintelligible.

"Don't make me make you," she warned.

"Or you'll do what?" He was already going back to sleep.

"Don't you dare, Michael Lee!" she threatened.

He only smiled, settling his head back into his arms. She put her face right in front of his and said, "If you don't move, I will make you baby-sit Sota for the next three years."

He lazily opened an eye again. "You couldn't make me do that."

"Wanna bet?" she challenged him.

He closed the distance between them, sealing their lips together. She was surprised at first, then relaxed, letting herself enjoy it while she could. _He isn't fully awake. He's not in control of what he's doing,_ she thought sadly. _Maybe I'll remind him later._ Somehow they made it to his bedroom without knocking anything over. She put him in his bed like he was a child, only a huge one. She stole one final, lingering kiss from him before turning out the lights. "Good night, Michael," she said.

"G'night," he called back, already falling asleep.

She sighed happily. She had finally been kissed by the man she loved. Granted, he wasn't awake, and she took unfair advantage of him since she knew he wasn't in control of his actions, but it was still fun. She was a little guilty of doing that to her best friend, but he wouldn't remember anyway, so if he didn't really feel that way, he wouldn't ever have to know.

Kagome was watching her come back. "That took you longer than usual. Was it harder to convince him to go to his room?"

Robin grimaced, but then smiled. "He was a bit more stubborn than usual, but I finally managed to convince him he had to go. That was after he kissed me, though."

"He actually kissed you?" Kagome squealed.

"Sssh! Yes, sort of. He was still asleep mostly, and not aware of what he was doing, but he did kiss me."

"You should tell him tomorrow. I know you like him."

"Michael's my best friend. I won't tell him that I took advantage of him. And not like that; I just knew that he was still asleep, and I kissed him back anyway. He might not like me in that way."

"He does," said Kagome firmly. "He even told me so. He just doesn't think you like him in that way. He really does love you."

Robin looked amazed. "I never guessed. I mean, he was the first one at the STN to accept me, but when did it change? He didn't like me like that when I first got there."

"Well, he didn't know you then."

"This is too much. I have to sleep or I'll be a zombie tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night, Robin."

&&


	9. Chapter 9

**I survived my first week of school! Sorry I've been away for so long, but I've been very busy. This is my last Friday off until sometime in November, which is when marching season is over.**

**Fuyu Taki: Enjoy your free time while you have it. It'll be gone before you know it. Glad you liked the last bit.**

**Angel452: Most of your questions will be answered in this chapter. If I didn't answer one, let me know, and I'll get back to you on it. I love the questions, though. Curiosity is a good thing; it keeps people reading.**

**Angel of Mercy: Inuyasha is here, never fear. I think he'll be in the rest of the story more.**

&&

Serena was doing her homework for a change when her mother came in. "Serena," said Irene "I hate to do this to you, but we have to move back to Juuban. Your father's been transferred back there."

Serena put her pencil down. "When do we leave?"

"We already have a buyer for the house, so next week."

_Yes! I won't have to see them again!_ "That's great, Mom. I missed that place."

Irene smiled. "I'm glad you feel that way. I've spoken to your friends' parents and guardians, and they're changing with you."

Serena's smile became fixed. "That's great, Mom."

"The school here's too far, so they decided to keep you all together in Juuban. I have to go see that your brother gets in bed on time. Good night, baby."

"Good night, Mom." _NOOOOOOOOO! Don't make me stay with them!_ "Luna," she called to her cat.

"Yes, Serena?" Luna sounded annoyed that she was addressing her.

"I can't stay with them! I can't!"

"They probably don't want to stay with you just as much," she replied. Luna hadn't been the kindest person to talk to ever since that night.

All her pent-up emotions boiled over. The betrayal, and now this…she exploded. "You know what, Luna? I'm tired of you being so mean. If you don't like me, stay with one of the Sailor Scouts. Actually, that's a good idea. Why didn't I do this sooner?"

"What are you doing?" asked the cat nervously. "You can't throw me out!" She was supposed to be spying for the Scouts, making sure that Serena didn't do anything that would endanger Crystal Tokyo.

"Sammy doesn't like you, and neither do I. Since you are my cat, I can throw you out. Good bye!" She picked up Luna by the ruff of her neck and took her through the house to the front door, Luna scratching her arms raw, trying to get her to let go. Opening the door with her foot, Serena threw the black cat as hard as she could out the door. She heard her hit a bunch of trash cans and smiled with satisfaction. "Mom, I just got rid of Luna," she called. "Don't let her back into the house."

"Okay, baby," Irene called back. "Now go to bed."

"'kay," she said. She wandered back to her room, turning out the lights and sleeping peacefully for the first time since her friends split with her.

&&

Robin seemed to float on air for the past few mornings. He couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was because they had a holiday coming up. Maybe she just felt like being happy. _Girls are confusing,_ he thought, shaking his head. Things didn't seem to clear up when they left for school. Kagome started walking ahead of them. _Maybe she needs to get to class early._ He and Robin were walking together, not saying anything. Now she was serious, like she was when she first came to Raven's Flat.

"Michael," she said, then stopped.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Um, I don't know how to say this," she said hesitantly.

"Just think about the bare facts, and say that," he suggested.

"It's not that easy. But, I can try." She stopped again.

"Go on. I won't yell at you if you mess up," he said kindly.

"Michael, do you remember a couple nights ago?"

"Hm…" he thought for a moment. "I was at the computer. Then I woke up in my room. Oh, I fell asleep at the computer again, I guess. Why?"

"Um, well, I, uh, had to get you to bed and you're too heavy for me lift. I tried to wake you up enough to get you to sort of walk to your room. It sort of worked."

He didn't like the way this conversation was going. Not at all. "Keep going."

She swallowed and continued. "Well, your eyes were open, and you could walk, but you weren't completely awake. And, um…"

He definitely didn't like the direction of this conversation. "Did I do anything… unacceptable?" He really didn't want to know the answer to that one, but he had to know.

"You kissed me."

It wasn't as bad as what he was thinking, but it was probably bad if you're a sheltered girl from a convent. "Oh, Robin, I'm sorry. I should've had more control than that. It was wrong of me to do that. I can't tell you how sorry I am." He would have gone on, except Robin put her beautiful hand to his face, silencing him.

"It's fine. I enjoyed it. I'm the one who should be sorry. After I managed to lead you to your room, I kissed you. That was wrong of me, and my conscience has been eating away at me for doing it. I'm really sorry." Now it was his turn to shush her.

"It's fine. I don't mind. I wish I could remember it, though."

She smiled mischievously. "I could remind you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

She kissed him just as she did that night. Only this time he responded to her. They were both almost late to class, but it was worth it. Both wore smiles for the rest of the day.

&&

Kagome smiled happily as the last bell before the holiday rang. Thing were going great! First, there's no school for a week, and second, Robin and Michael were going out. She was trying to run home, and quickly lost them because they were taking their merry time, walking slowly, holding hands and such. Robin might also be lagging behind so she would have enough time to explain about the well. Odds were he wouldn't believe her, so she would have to demonstrate how it worked.

Running up the stairs and into her room, she threw things into her backpack. _Just wait a bit longer, Inuyasha, we're coming._ She came down just as Robin and Michael came through the door, Michael looking a little dazed. "Bye, guys, I'm leaving for the well."

"Wait, Kagome!" cried Robin. "I have to go for a little while," she said to Michael. "Could you stay here and watch Sota?"

Not looking very happy, he sighed and nodded. "Sure, I can do that."

Racing into the house, she did a Kagome and threw whatever she could reach into her travel bag. In the kitchen, she took loads of chocolate, instant coffee, and Ramen noodles. You never knew if you needed to placate someone. She ran back to where Kagome was impatiently tapping her foot, an annoyed expression on her face.

"What took you so long?" she demanded. "We have to go or Inuyasha'll come here and want to know why we haven't come in a while."

"Sorry. I just had to grab some stuff." Looking at Michael, she said, "It's very likely that there will be tourists that want to see this place. Are you able to do this by yourself?"

He waved her query away. "Yeah, I can just call some people from school, and they're more than willing to earn a little extra cash."

She flashed him a smile. "Have fun. Don't neglect Sota, now."

"I won't," he promised.

Kagome got fed up and said a hasty "Good-bye" to him and grabbed Robin's bag, which was attached to her back, and hauled her down the well.

Once on the other side, Kagome took Robin's backpack off her shoulders and threw both bags over the top with ease that comes with practice. Then she scaled the walls in record time.

Robin was just shaking her head and trying not to laugh out loud. "Someone's in a hurry," she commented. "What's the rush?"

Kagome was dancing with impatience by the time Robin made her way to the top again. "Come on, we haven't seen the others since we started school."

"True enough," said Robin, "but it's not like we had time to come and visit."

"I'll race you to the village," challenged Kagome, wanting to get there as fast as possible.

"You're on," accepted Robin, and off they went. Kagome knew the forest better than Robin, so she had the advantage, but Robin managed to stay at her heels the whole time. They entered the village in step and neck-to-neck. Unfortunately, they were still going fast, and when poor Miroku happened to get in their way, he was run over by the racing girls, and was left with footprints all over the front of him.

"I think we just ran over someone," said Robin, looking behind them.

"Don't get distracted!" responded Kagome, leaping out of the way of Inuyasha. Robin was not so fortunate. BAM! They collided, one rolling over the other. They kept going, out of the village and a good ways down the road. Kagome and Sango, who had seen what had happened, followed.

"They're going to have one heck of a headache," murmured Sango to Kagome.

"Yep. Get ready to hold Inuyasha back; I don't think he was expecting that to happen."

"I know." Sango readied her Hiraikotsu to separate the surprised but soon to be furious and in pain hanyou, and the disoriented witch.

They held their breath when they stopped rolling. Inuyasha was the first one to get up, staggering around, trying to get his balance back. By the way he was holding his head, he had one serious hammer in it and the blacksmith wasn't letting up. Robin was just laying there, her hands on her head; apparently, she had the siblings of the hammer and the blacksmith, and they weren't about to be outdone by the their brothers.

They saw him go over to her, wincing with each step; it probably didn't help that each step emphasized the blow of the hammer. Sango got into a throwing position if he showed any sign of hostility toward the girl at his feet. To their surprise, he picked her up carefully, and take small steps towards them, his face showing how much pain his head was in.

"Inuyasha, I'm impressed! I thought you were going to try and beat the baloney out of her," said Kagome.

His ears flattened against his skull and, wincing, whispered, "Not so loud."

"Oh, sorry," whispered Kagome.

"I saw Sango, and knew it wasn't worth the pain I'd get from her if I did. Besides, she can summon fire. I'm kind of fond of my hair, and would like to keep it unsinged."

Kagome held out her arms to him. "I'll take her. You look like you've just been spit out of a blender, and you walk like it, too."

Sango slung Hiraikotsu across her back and pushed Kagome gently to the side. "I'll take her. You make sure that Inuyasha doesn't walk off a cliff or something like that."

Relieved that he didn't have to carry her, he gladly relinquished Robin to Sango. She took the younger girl and headed back to the village. Kagome stood by him and whispered, "You can lean on me, you know."

He put an arm across her shoulders so she could support him better. Taking their time, they slowly made their way towards the village after Sango.

&&

Hiei watched Tanner leave the shrine with a feeling of satisfaction and confusion. Tanner hadn't been able to question Kagome or Robin since they weren't there. There wasn't much Tanner could do then but leave. But if they weren't there, and Hiei didn't find what he was looking for, he couldn't question them.

As soon as Tanner was down the stairs, he gracefully leaped down next to the well house. Looking around, he saw that nothing had changed except that there were more scents in here. Hearing a noise, he whirled, his katana raised and ready to strike down whoever made that sound.

There was no one there.

Still wary, he slid his katana back in its sheath on his back, he eyes darting around the room, convinced that there was someone else in the room. Cautiously he approached the gaping hole that was the top of the well. Peering down, he couldn't see the bottom of the seemingly endless pit of darkness. He felt something brush against his ankles, and he jumped in surprise. Unfortunately, he leaned too far against the side of the well, and he fell into it.

Right before he was swallowed by the dark pit that was the well, he saw Buyo, the Higurashi cat. They couldn't find him before the move, so he didn't go. _It was just a cat!_ He thought incredulously before all natural light had disappeared, and a purple one enveloped him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Angel452: All you questions will be answered here. Well, maybe not all of them, but the ones you sent me. I'd write more, but there's a thunderstorm coming, so I have to type quick.**

**Fuyu Taki: I'm part of my school's marching band, and marching season is when we march at football games, and marching competitions. It's been a long time since I've seen Sailor Moon myself, so it's just easier to have her mom accept that they no longer have a cat. Besides, Serena's younger brother hates Luna, so it shouldn't be a big deal if she gets thrown out.**

&&

When the purple light faded, Hiei was still able to see. Looking up, he saw that there were vines and other plants around its sides. _That wasn't there before. Neither was the sky._

He jumped out of the well and was once again surrounded by trees. On his guard, he walked around a bit before finding the Goshinboku. _This is strangely familiar,_ he thought. The scents of many animals surrounded this place. _This isn't the Higurashi Shrine. What is this place?_ He could smell humans, but they weren't very close to this place. _It smells like the old village that used to be close to this place. What's going on?_

Warily approaching the area where the human scent was strongest, he saw the village where Kagome and the other shard hunters stayed. _What kind of illusion is this? I've tried to forget about this place and all it signifies. Why has it come up now?_ Now he was just lying to himself. He wanted to forget this place where he had been the happiest, but at the same time wanted to remember that there had been some good in his life, that there was a time that people had taken him without knowing what he was, and not caring, and loved him for who he was.

_Stop it!_ He shook his head to clear it a bit. _If they knew what you would become, they would have killed you right then._ He entered, very much aware of how much he stood out with his clothes. He ignored the stares, and just walked slowly, taking in the village. _This must be the same village!_ he thought excitedly. _But it's probably still after everyone's dead. Not much point in getting my hopes up. They won't recognize me anyway._

He was looking around when a small object came barreling into him. He fell with less than his usual grace, and saw a kitsune kit on top of his chest. He looked at Hiei curiously and said, "Hi! Who are you?"

_This kit looks like Shippo._ "I'm looking for a place to stay while I'm in the area. Do you know if there's anyplace I can do that?" he asked instead of answering the ka kitsune's question.

"Yep, just follow me," said the hyper kit, trying to aid him in getting up, but only getting in the way. He bounced in the direction of the interior of the village, and Hiei followed.

He stopped in front of what was clearly the home of the miko that cared for the villagers, and announced, "Here we are! This is Kaede's home, the resident miko of this place. She's the one that takes in travelers."

Hiei had frozen at the sound of Kaede's name. _It can't be! She was old when I was a child; she must be dead by now. Maybe it's her successor. Haven't I already done this? I really need to stop talking to myself. Yes I do. Then stop already. Okay, I will. Don't do that! Okay! STOP! ALL RIGHT! AAAARRRRRRGGGGG!_

He walked in after the kit, and asked, "Do you live here?"

"Yeah. Ever since the Thunder Brothers killed my family, I've lived here."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. I was taken in by Inuyasha and Kagome, so they and the others are my family now."

_Why me? This is Shippo. I know it is._ "Is your name, by chance, Shippo?" he asked anyway, dreading the answer.

"Yes. How did you know that?" asked the kitsune curiously.

"Just a lucky guess. I'd heard of you and the other shard hunters. I didn't know this is where they lived, though."

"Yep. We all live here. I don't know where the others are right now, but Kaede is should be coming back from the other village sometime soon. They don't have a miko as experienced as Kaede, so they're constantly calling on her to supervise one thing or another. The others'll be coming around eventually."

The young fox set about making a fire; Hiei helped out a bit since he was bored and the fox was still so small that he could barely lift some of the firewood. Hiei, still bored and wanting something to do, glared at the fire like Robin used to do, and it burst into flames. Shippo fell on his back and looked at Hiei in amazement a little bit of fear.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"My mother showed me how to do that," he replied. "It helps that I'm a demon with fire abilities."

Shippo was slowly backing away from him. "I'm not here for the jewel," Hiei assured him, reading his mind. "I'm just passing through."

Shippo thought about this for a second. _He should be okay, even if he is after the jewel,_ Hiei heard the little kitsune think. _He doesn't have to know that Kagome disappeared ever since Hiei was taken and took the jewel with her._ That surprised him, but, being Hiei, it didn't show on his face. They stared into the fire for a while. Then, while they were deep in their own thoughts, Kaede entered, looking more haggard and tired than usual. She was a bit surprised to see Hiei, but since he didn't seem to be threatening anyone, she didn't think he would harm them.

"Are ye a traveler?" she asked him, jerking him out of his thoughts.

"Yes. I have yet to decide where to go next, but I'm just passing through."

"Stay as long as ye need. If ye mean well, ye are welcome to stay as long as ye would like."

"Thank you," he replied, being far more polite than he normally was. It was the atmosphere here; it reminded him too much of when he was a happy and helpful child with the shard hunters.

"Shippo, I think it is time for ye to be in bed."

"Aw, but Kaede," whined Shippo, but she was firm.

"Ye are still a growing child, and need your sleep. Bed!" He slumped towards the room where Hiei once stayed with the shard hunters.

Kaede sighed and put one of her hands on her lower back. "I am not as young as I used to be. I'm afraid that I must retire as well. If there is anything ye need, just wake me." She made her way to her bedroom in slow, painful steps.

Hiei continued to stare into the fire. His thoughts were in a jumble, which was the only reason he wasn't arguing with himself. The flames lit up his ruby eyes, which were dreamily looking at nothing in particular. His arms were wrapped around his knees, and his chin rested on top of them. Anyone looking in at that moment would have seen a vulnerable child, not a hardened former assassin. It hurt to think about much of anything, so he just stared at the fire, mesmerized by the dancing light.

This was how Sango found him, looking like a lost child. She was still carrying Robin, who was still holding her head. The blacksmith refused to stop pounding, and the hammer continued to try and break her head apart. She whimpered with each step Sango took, but Hiei didn't notice, so lost in the flames that he didn't realize they were even there.

Sango put Robin by the fire and whispered, "I'll be right back with something what will ease your headache." She only got a whimper of pain as an answer.

Sango left for the hut where the herbs were kept, leaving Robin with the silent Hiei. The fire crackled, and she cringed, crying out softly. That small noise caused Hiei to finally come out of his thoughts. He looked over and saw something on the other side of the fire. He crawled over, and saw it was Robin Sena, looking the exact same way she did when he was a child. She was curled into a ball, holding her head with a pained expression on her face. Her eyes were firmly shut, enforcing the pained look on her beautiful face.

"Robin," he whispered. She whimpered again, her hands covering her ears more firmly. His shadow fell on Robin's face. She opened her eyes, looking at him with the agony she was feeling echoed in her eyes.

"Who are you?" he barely heard her whisper.

"A friend," he replied. She winced, her suffering apparent to him.

He stroked her head, running his fingers through her hair, like he used to do when she held him. He still thought that this was an illusion, so he was going to enjoy being with his adoptive parents while he had time with them. He could tell that her suffering was slowly fading as he rubbed her head. Somehow her head made it to his lap, and he was holding her close to his body while he kept massaging the pain away.

Sango came in at this point. She startled them, making Hiei start to jump away, but Robin grabbed him and held on for dear life. Not wanting to cause her more pain, he settled down, and Sango approached them. "Here, this will get rid of the pain," she said, eyeing Hiei warily.

Robin eagerly drained the cup. "Thank you, Sango," she said, relief evident in her voice. "That was just what I needed." Still, she didn't remove her head until Sango cleared her throat and looked at them pointedly. Robin was gone in an instant, apologizing to Hiei and thanking him for making the pain more bearable until Sango came.

"Don't mention it," he said, already turning back to the fire, not wanting to see them watch him like he was a snake they weren't sure would bite or not.

"Did Inuyasha come in with Kagome?" asked Sango.

"I didn't notice them come in if they did. Did someone come in while she was gone?" Robin asked Hiei.

"No," was all he said.

"They have to around here somewhere. I'll go look for them. Oh, and I have to see where that lecher went off to."

"He might be in the road still, where Kagome and I ran him over," called Robin softly to the retreating demon slayer. When Sango had gone out, she turned to Hiei, who had his back to the fire. "Who are you?" she asked curiously.

_She doesn't know me._ That thought was still saddening, even though this was just an illusion. Of course, she couldn't see him very well because he was in shadow due to the fact that his back was to the fire. "I'm a traveler. I was just passing through, but now I have to figure out where I'm going next. The miko that lives here offered me a room as long as I need one."

"Yes, Kaede is kind, and does this to every traveler," said Robin, laying by the fire.

"If you don't mind my asking, how did you come to be in such pain?" he asked.

"It was a stupid mistake I made," she replied. "Kagome, a friend of mine, and I were racing, and I got distracted. She managed to jump away, but I ran into someone, and we rolled out of the village, and some ways down the road. I think I came out the worse of the two, since I'm human, and the person I ran into was a hanyou."

"Inuyasha?" he whispered, not meaning for it to be heard, but it was anyway.

"Yes, how did you know that?" she asked in surprise.

"Oh, um," he muttered, buying himself time to think, "He's the only hanyou in this area. There's no one else it could be."

He looked at her again, and saw tears running down her face. "What's the matter?" he asked in confusion, wondering if it was something he'd said that upset her.

"I'm sorry. It's just that Kagome and I haven't been back here since someone we considered a son was taken from us. He was just a child, and bandits took him."

He was silent for a moment. "What was his name?" he asked tentatively.

"Hiei." It seemed like a dam had broken inside her, and she bowed over, overcome by sorrow. He hesitantly moved to her side, rubbing her back as Kagome once did to him. She shifted so that now she was crying on his shoulder. He held her, letting her cry herself out. _How long will this illusion last? It's starting to go wrong. They didn't care for me; they never even tried to look for me! This shows how much the maker of this illusion knows about my past._ Even so, he held her close.

Her sobs slowed after a while. "I'm sorry about that, stranger," she apologized. "Normally I don't act like this."

"It's all right," he responded. "Everyone needs to cry sometime."

She smiled and looked like she was going to say something, but just then Sango returned with Miroku, who was dusty and still had the footprints running up him, Inuyasha, and Kagome. Sango ignored them, and led Miroku, who was still dazed, to the bedroom, followed by Inuyasha and Kagome. Robin smiled at him and said a quick "Good night" before following the others into the room. He was alone again.

He went back to his original side of the fire, and watched it, only to be interrupted again. Kagome walked in and sat on the opposite side of the fire, her face also streaked with tears. _What is it today with my mothers and crying?_ "Is something the matter?" he asked, concerned.

She shook her head. Only more tears leaked out, calling her bluff. "Your face says otherwise. You don't have to say anything, though. Just ignore me."

She did just that. Tears still made their way down her face while she watched the fire and he watched her. Then, to his astonishment, her tears turned into Hiruseki stones. "Are you a Koorime?" he asked.

"What?" she asked back, confused.

"You cry Hiruseki stones; only the Koorime do that."

This only caused her tears to fall faster. "Have you heard of the Shikon Jewel?" she asked him. He nodded. "It knew how I felt about someone who had just been taken from me, and it made me cry Hiruseki stones from then on. I guess it thought that it made me closer to him. The guardian didn't know how she had done it; it still baffles her to this day."

"Was it…Hiei?" he hazarded. She stared at him. Hard. More like glared.

"How do you know?" she asked, her voice like steel, though tears still leaked out of her hazel eyes. "Were you one of the thieves that took him from me?" Her voice was steadily rising. It was shocking that Inuyasha didn't come barging in, demanding that Hiei explain why he was upsetting his mate.

"No, but Robin had a similar breakdown before you arrived, and told me. She said that you considered him to be your son."

"I did. I still do," she whispered. "They took a part of me that day."

"He probably misses you," he said, thinking of how he felt when he had first been taken back. "If you want him back so much, why don't you go after him."

"Do you think we haven't? I would search the entire world for him, except he isn't here anymore. They took him to Makai, where we can't follow. It's impossible for us to get him now. If I had just kept a closer eye on him, maybe he would still be here. It's too late to think about what ifs. They probably killed him by now. He's young, and bandits don't have time to raise children." She tucked her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them, just like Hiei did when Shippo went to bed. She quietly sobbed into her arms; Hiruseki stones flowing like a waterfall.

Again, he went over to her side of the fire, and comforted her the best he could. When she calmed down, she looked at him and said, "Thank you. I don't even know you, and you've helped me. I'm not normally like this. It's just that you remind me of him so much. You have the same hair color, eyes, and expressions he did."

He smiled, his muscles stretching a bit since it had been awhile since he last smiled. _This is one messed up illusion._ However, doubts were now creeping into his mind. _What if they really did look for me? I didn't know they couldn't get to Makai from here._ "Perhaps we're related."

She sniffed, then asked, "What's your name, stranger?"

He hesitated. "My name isn't really important. It will only cause you pain."

"No, tell me. It's better than calling you 'stranger'," she said.

He got up and moved back to his side of the fire. "They call me Hiei."

She visibly stiffened. "That's not funny. What's your real name?"

"That is my real name. I told you that it would only cause you pain if you knew."

They were both silent for the next few minutes. He could tell that she was tired and confused, not a good combination if you add sorrow to the mixture. Her emotions were chasing each other, causing her mind to be thrown into turmoil. Finally, she got up and said to him, "It was nice talking to you. Good night." She left him.

_I suppose I'm staying out here,_ he thought, not knowing where he was supposed to go, since Kaede had neglected to tell him, and no one else stuck around long enough for him to ask. He laid down, falling asleep with the warmth of the fire on his face.

&&


	11. Chapter 11

**We had our first football game last night, and we won! Football games are exciting, especially if you're in the band. About half the people don't know anything about anything when it comes to football, so usually our band director has to tell us if something is good or bad. Still, it's great fun. And our show went well! Well, considering that was the first time we've marched in front of an audience and hadn't marched on grass before, it went very well. Someone was in my spot towards the end, but other than that, everything went smoothly.**

**Thank you everyone for reviewing. I've been busy this week, but since I finished all my homework yesterday, I can update tomorrow, too.**

**Angel452: You're the only person who asked a question, so I'll just answer it quickly here. There's a bit of interaction with Hiei and Kagome in this chapter, but the recognition isn't in this one. Maybe tomorrow's…**

&&

Kagome woke up way after everyone else. The sun had not yet reached her, but no one else was in the room. She stretched and sluggishly got up. _Time to work, I guess. I wonder if Kaede needs me?_

She meandered into the main room, where she saw that Hiei was still dead to the world. _He looks so much like my baby, only grown up._ She walked over to his sleeping form. He did look like her Hiei; it was eerie how much they resembled one another. _Maybe they are related, like he said._

Realizing her friends hadn't left her any food, she sighed and started making her own breakfast, forgetting she was just feeding herself and making too much. Again. She watched it heat, sitting by the unconscious Hiei. She started to drift off, not completely awake, and wasn't aware of the food reaching its right temperature.

&&

Hiei woke up to the smell of cooking food. _How can there be someone this close? People aren't supposed to create fires in this forest,_ he thought, confused, thinking that he was in his customary tree in a park in Tokyo. He opened an eye to a slit, and saw Kagome, just about asleep, not paying attention to the food on the fire.

"If you don't remove that, it'll burn," he said, his voice hoarse from disuse.

She started, and pulled the food off the hot flames. "Thanks," she said. "I didn't know it was ready. I didn't wake you, did I?" she asked in a worried tone.

"No, it was the food that was calling me back."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, looking sincerely upset that she woke him.

"It's fine." He glanced outside, and his eyes widened. "I didn't know it was so light outside." _This is still a dream, or the illusion is better than I thought._ "I had best get going. I don't know where the next village is, and I have a lot of traveling to do."

"You said last night that you didn't know where you were going," said Kagome, her face mirroring her confusion.

"I don't, but I won't get there any faster if I just sit here all day."

"Stay," she pleaded. He was shocked that she would ask a stranger to stay, and he could tell that she was just as shocked. "It won't hurt to stay until you find out where you're going next."

_It's not like I have anything better to do. I have to try and break this illusion, if that's what this is. If it's just a dream, then I should wake up sometime._ He nodded. "Okay, I can do that." _If I'm patient, the illusion will wear away. Of course, that's only if I fail to break it._

Kagome's smile lit up her face. She looked like she was glowing. _She always did make the room shine when she smiled._

When offered some food, he declined. "I can't take your food," he said, turning his head away so he wouldn't have to smell the deliciousness of it.

"It's no trouble. Besides, there's too much for me to eat. I'll have to throw out what I can't eat since there's no way to save it."

Seeing that she was serious, he accepted her offer and dug in. He was a growing demon, after all. At first, she watch him eat like a speed demon, which he was, she just didn't know that. Then she shrugged and started eating her own meal.

Finished, Hiei put his chopsticks in the bowl and asked her politely, "Where do we wash these?"

Looking up, she said, "You don't have to wash those; you're a guest. Just leave them with me, and I'll clean them."

"No, I couldn't do that. I'll just do it if you'll point me in the right direction."

She indicated outside the door was where they washed their dishes. "There's a well near here, and a bucket beside it. Take the bucket and draw water from the well. Then bring it back here, and use the fire to heat the water. That's just how we do things here," she said, her tone saying that back in this time, most people didn't heat water to clean things. "It's a lot of work, so that's why we normally do the chores, and not guests."

"It's fine. I'll just go get the water," he said, standing up and walking out the door. He located the well without much difficulty, and used his demon strength to pull it up. _What is this bucket made of? Rock?_

Pulling it up, he saw it was made of just plastic, which was what normal buckets were made of, except that in this time, there was no plastic anything. It hadn't been invented. And this bucket was more like a tub; it was way too big to be a normal bucket from this era. He got it off the chain and lugged it up to the hut where dirty dishes awaited him. Reaching his destination, he asked Kagome where he was supposed to put it. She couldn't hide her astonishment that such a small person like him could even lift the bucket out of the well, much less carry it here.

"Um, just put it over the fire," she said, putting a stand over it so that the flames would warm up the water. "It'll take a while, so there's nothing else to do except wait."

That was one of the things that Hiei wasn't good at. He glared at the fire again, and it roared up, much hotter than it normally would have been. It wasn't enough to melt the plastic, but one degree more and it would be.

Kagome leaped back when the flames rose up on their own. "What's going on?" she asked aloud.

"It wasn't moving fast enough, so I made it hotter," he responded.

"You did that?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm a fire demon."

She was astonished that Inuyasha hadn't picked up his scent. _Well, he did have one massive headache last night, and I don't know how he was this morning,_ he "heard" her think. "I'm not here because I want to hurt someone. I'm just passing through; I told you that."

Warily she nodded. "You did say that."

He took off his shirt (it's more like a tunic, but I prefer shirt), not wanting to get it wet, and put his chopsticks and bowl in. "Do you have soap, or something?" he asked her, not looking away from the boiling water.

_What is with this guy?_ He heard her think again. _He knows to wash with hot water, and then he asks for soap? Where is he from?_ "I'll go get some," she said, standing up and going into the room where she stayed. Returning, she didn't see her dishes anywhere, and Hiei was waiting for her. "Where are my dishes?" she asked.

"I put them in with the rest of them. Soap?" He held out his hand for it.

She handed him the Dawn dish soap. He looked at it for a moment, thinking. _Now how did Kurama do this? He opened the top like that, then poured a little bit into the water._ He tried to do it from memory, but somehow couldn't figure out how to open the top. Kagome, watching his antics with amusement, finally took the soap from him, saying, "I'll do it." The lid came up and she carefully approached the fire. Pouring a little into the tub, she quickly backed away from the fire. "Okay, um, if you could take it off the fire…" Hiei was already sticking his hands into the boiling water and washing the dishes with a cloth she had given him with the Dawn. "Doesn't that hurt?" she asked, curious.

"Temperature doesn't bother me," he said. "Because of my fire demon blood, I'm immune to heat, and my Koorime blood allows me to not feel the cold."

She was getting distressed from all the reminders of her baby. Not wanting to upset her even more, he remained silent, finishing the dishes, taking them out, and cooling the fire so the hut doesn't catch on fire. Putting his shirt back on, he exited the place and walked outside into the sunlight.

&&


	12. Chapter 12

**Gotta rush, so on with the story!**

&&

Inuyasha was meandering around the village, bored. It seemed like ever since Naraku was killed, there was no challenging demons around. Well, there was always his brother, Sesshomaru, but he mostly stayed in the Western Lands nowadays.

His eyes wandered around as he passes people. _Villager, Shippo, another villager, Hiei… Wait a minute!_ He did a classic double take as he saw the fire Koorime coming out of Kaede's hut. And, since he was watching the fire demon, ran right into a tree that just happened to be in front of him. _How did he get here without me knowing? I must be going out of my mind. This demon is too old to be Hiei. But they have the same scent. And he's the only fire Koorime alive. What is going on? And where did that tree come from?_

&&

Not really remembering the village very well, since he hadn't stayed in it for all that long, Hiei wandered around, watching the villagers go about their daily lives. He did notice that Inuyasha had spotted him and was approaching with a neutral expression on his face.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely, since he still looked up to the hanyou that took him in.

"Where are you from?" Inuyasha asked him. He was suspicious of Hiei. _Of course! He can smell the demon in me. He thinks I'm after the Shikon Jewel!_

"I know what you're thinking, and I'm not here for the jewel. I'm just passing through."

He didn't believe him. "I'm not sure you're being completely honest. You smell like a demon; a rare one, in fact. Koorime and fire demon."

Hiei stiffened. _His sense of smell is better than other demons I know._ "Yes, and because of that I am an outcast. Do you think I would wander if I was accepted by either race?"

"You aren't the only type of demon that has ka youkai and Koorime blood. There's another child like that. His name was Hiei." The hanyou fell silent.

"So I've been told. That name must be popular, since that also happens to be my name."

Inuyasha stared at him like was looking into his soul. "Where are you from?" he asked again.

Hiei replied, "I'd rather not say in this place where it could be overheard."

"Follow me," said Inuyasha, and he leaped out of the village and into the forest. He stopped in front of the Goshinboku and spun around to face Hiei. "Now tell me."

Hiei sat down at the tree's base; Inuyasha followed suit. "I'm not from around here," he began.

"That's obvious," Inuyasha stated.

"In fact, I'm not from this time period. Well, I am alive during this time, but I was a young boy. You may think I'm crazy, but I fell down a well because I tripped over a cat, and I ended up here." He couldn't bring himself to look at Inuyasha.

He didn't get the response he was expecting. "You're from the other side of the well," Inuyasha said faintly.

"I guess," said Hiei in a low voice, still not looking up at his "father".

"You're from Kagome's time?" Inuyasha continued weakly.

Hiei's head shot up. "Nani!" he shouted.

"Kagome's time, the other side of the well," explained Inuyasha. "She isn't from this era."

This was news to Hiei. "I don't know if I'm from her time, but I fell down the well and ended up here."

He could see two and two come together in Inuyasha's mind. "You're Hiei," he whispered.

"That's what my name is, yes," replied the Koorime.

"Did you live with us once?" asked Inuyasha.

Hiei sighed. "Yes," he said so quietly that even Inuyasha's acute hearing could barely hear it.

They stared at each other for a moment before Hiei added, "I don't think it would be a good idea to tell anyone else. They won't believe you."

The hanyou nodded. "You're probably right. But you never know…"

"I don't think they would be able to take the shock," said Hiei firmly. "Maybe later I'll tell them, but not now."

"You told them you were a traveler; are going to give up your wandering ways and settle with us? You do plan on staying, right?" asked Inuyasha, who missed the little Hiei more than he let on.

"I need to get back to my time. I'm needed there."

"That's just a jump down the well. Stay for a bit. No one will mind."

"I don't know…"

"Come on," Inuyasha coaxed. "If anyone has a problem with it, I'll put that person back in their place." He pulled his 'son' up and started walking back to the village. "I doubt that there will be much of a fuss. Miroku and Sango are building their own home near here, now that they're mates. They'd better hurry if they don't want Sango's twins to be born before it's complete." At Hiei's surprised look, he smiled. "They don't know it yet, and you're the first person I've told. I wouldn't tell them; they might have a heart attack if they find out."

"What about you and Kagome?" Hiei asked.

The dog demon was silent for a moment before saying, "I can't ask her to stay here. She has a life in your time, and I have no right to take that away from her."

"You could still build her a home," he suggested. "That way she won't have to stay with Kaede every time she comes here."

"I could do that," said Inuyasha speculatively. "But where would it be?"

"Near the Goshinboku would please her," Hiei said. "But it would be your home too, so I think what makes you happy would make her happy, too. And you would be close to Sango and Miroku."

"Thanks for the idea," said Inuyasha, flashing him an approving smile.

For some reason, praise from Inuyasha still made him glow with happiness. "Of course," continued Inuyasha, "you would be welcome anytime."

_A place to call home!_ He never really had a place to call home before. Feeling happier in the past few days than he had been in years, he accepted Inuyasha's invitation with concealed excitement. "Where would we start to build it?" wondered the half-demon.

"How about over there?" Hiei pointed to the place he was thinking of.

"Yeah, that could work," agreed Inuyasha. "I'll get started tonight."

"I'll help you," volunteered Hiei. "You can get it done faster," he persuaded the hanyou, who looked like he would object. "Besides, if I'm living there with you two, it had better be done right."

&&


	13. Chapter 13

**Probably won't be able to update during the week, so here's an extra one!**

&&

Serena was watching the rain come down in front of her new home in Juuban. It had only been three days since their break had started, and she was already bored. It didn't help that it had rained every day since she had been here.

Getting fed up of sitting around all day, she called to her mom that she was going out to the mall.

"Okay," her mom replied. "Just be back by seven."

She took her umbrella and ran out into the rain. Within fifteen minutes, she made it to the department store. More happy than she had been since the Sailor Senshi threw her off the team, she shopped around and made her purchases.

She was so busy that she didn't notice the time slipping by. Glancing at a clock, she gasped. "It's nine already! My mom's gonna kill me!" She rushed out the mall after making her last purchase.

Unfortunately, she ran into a thug right outside a dark alley. He grabbed her throat and pulled her roughly into the alley. She didn't like the looks of this, and it didn't get any better when he, still holding her throat, preventing her from screaming, started ripping her clothes off. _He isn't!_ He continued to take of her clothes and started removing some of his own. _Oh, Lord, he is!_ He threw her down onto the dirty street, stunning her for a few crucial seconds. It hurt when she was shoved to the hard pavement, but what hurt most was the knowledge of what was coming next. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out what was happening.

She heard him grunt in surprise, then fly off way too fast for him to have been unaided. She opened her eye to a slit, and what she saw made them widen. He was clawing at his neck as if he couldn't breathe. She could see that there was a current of wind that was wrapped around his neck, choking the life out of him. His eyes were wide, and his attempts to get rid of the ribbon of wind that was throttling him were steadily weakening. A few more tries, and it released him. He fell back, his lifeless eyes unseeing.

She put her clothes on in a rush, not wanting to be near the dead thug any longer than necessary. However, she stayed too long. A man dressed in black stepped out in front of her and said, "You will have to come with me."

There was something about him that told her that if she did, something bad would happen. "I didn't mean to kill him. He was trying to rape me."

The man just said, "You have to come with me, witch."

Remembering Robin's warning about these people, she decided to take her chances with trying to outrun him. She whirled and, bags in hand, caused winds to blow dust into his eyes and lift her up over the wall. She hit the ground running as soon as it lowered her down. _If I go home,_ she thought wildly, _they'll come after my family. I can try to get back to Tokyo; yeah, that's what I'll do._

She just about flew down the road towards Tokyo. To her surprise, the man didn't follow her. _Maybe he doesn't know where I am, or where I'm going._ She tired after a few miles, but she forced herself to keep going with the images of what they'll do if they caught her. She eventually picked up a kind of mantra to keep herself going. It wasn't much, but it was something that she focused on and it kept her going. _Must keep going, must keep going…_

&&

Kagome watched Miroku and Sango prepare their just finished home. They were so proud of it, and she could tell that it was made with many children in mind. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of Inuyasha's Forest, so it wasn't exactly close. _I wonder when they'll have time to raise a family._ She had recognized Sango's aura had altered to the brightness of motherhood, but didn't say anything. It was Inuyasha who congratulated them last night, telling them that Sango was expecting twins. Evidently neither of them had known, but were happy all the same. In fact, Sango was practically glowing now.

The one thing that puzzled her now was the fact that Hiei was still here. He had said that he was a wanderer, but then he announced that he decided that he liked this village, and felt like staying for awhile. But that was nothing compared to Inuyasha's reaction. He did nothing. She thought that he would've made some fuss about a demon staying in his village, but he supported Hiei the whole way. They had even taken to hanging out, in a way. Their behavior puzzled her to no end, but she didn't say anything about it.

Gazing at the road, she saw a lone figure coming up towards the village. _This seems to happen a lot,_ she thought to herself as she went to greet the stranger.

"Hello," she told the person, who happened to be a girl around her age.

"Hi, who are you?" the girl asked.

"I'm Kagome," she replied. "I stay in that village over yonder." She pointed to Kaede's village.

"You must be new," said the girl. "I'm a miko in training there, and I don't remember seeing you."

"A miko in training?" asked Kagome.

"Yes. Kaede is getting old, unfortunately, so she's been training me to be her successor. She left me in a neighboring village as a final test. I've been there for as long as she asked me to, and now I'm going to have her name me a real miko, and her successor."

"Wow, good for you," said Kagome. "She hasn't mentioned you, but it probably slipped her mind; she is a bit aged, as you said. What's your name?"

"I'm Kira," she said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kagome," she replied.

Kira suddenly grew cold. "I see. So you're the guardian of the Shikon no Tama." She eyed Kagome speculatively. "You don't seem very strong; certainly not strong enough to be the guardian of something so powerful as the Shikon Jewel."

_This girl has some serious mood swings._ Kagome made a mental note of that. "I do well enough," she said, a little disconcerted at the sudden change in Kira's mood. "It hasn't been stolen yet." _Well, except for that one time that a fox stole it from me for a few seconds. But she doesn't have to know that._ "Why do you care if I guard the Jewel?"

Kira glared at her. "I don't want it to be stolen by a demon or a greedy human! The only way to ensure that it doesn't is to guard it myself. So I'd appreciate it if you handed it over." She held out her hand imperiously.

Kagome drew away from her. "I don't think so. It was entrusted to me, and that's how it's going to stay!"

Kira sighed and looked at her like she was explaining the obvious. "The Jewel has always been entrusted to the mikos of this village, and it should remain so. Now, hand over the jewel, and I won't have to hurt you."

Kagome was trying not to laugh now. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do to hurt me if you mean to use your miko power." She gave in to laughter, and walked ahead of Kira. Feeling the young girl gather her power together, she readied herself for an attack. It came flying towards her back, but, without turning around, she put up a hand and absorbed Kira's attack into her body and merged it with her own power.

Kira gasped in shock. "Th-that's not possible!" she stammered.

"Of course it is," Kagome tossed over her shoulder. "Did you think that the Shikon Jewel would leave its protector without some way of defending herself? Anyway, I'm a miko myself." She left the astonished Kira behind her and walked back into the village. She heard Kira's footsteps running to catch her, but she ignored her. They both reached Kaede's hut at the same time. Kira shoved Kagome to the side with her shoulder, and entered the hut of her master. Kagome followed after a few seconds and found Kira and Kaede talking together.

When she saw Kagome, Kira brought up her complaint again. "Kaede-sama, this girl claims to be Kagome, the guardian of the Shikon no Tama."

Kaede looked up and nodded, smiling at Kagome. "Aye, she is the bearer of the Shikon Jewel."

"How come this CHILD is the guardian of the jewel?" she demanded.

"Who're you calling 'child'?" asked an annoyed Kagome. "We're the same age!"

"She has been chosen to be the guardian by Midoriko herself. It is not for us to gainsay her. You had best accept it, and be content."

"How can I be happy when this child is in possession of the Jewel that strong demons will come for miles to get? It will only be safe if it is in my care!"

"Ye may think so, Kira, but ye are still young. Go and put your things away; tonight, you will become the miko of this village."

Kira bowed to Kaede and made her way to one of the rooms that Kagome assumed Kira stayed in. Kaede shook her head, and spoke to Kagome. "Please excuse her. She's just a child, and thinks she knows everything."

"I understand, but why does she have to insist on taking the Jewel from me?"

Kaede sighed. "She thinks that she's all-powerful. She refuses to believe that there is someone that is more powerful than she is. It can be a good thing, but it is also a hindrance to her ability to see the potential in others. She's ambitious, and wants more power. But I would not have chosen her if I didn't think she would become a good miko for these people."

"She seems to be a little too ambitious. She ordered me to hand over the Shikon Jewel when I told her who I was. I'm sorry, Kaede, but I don't think we'll get along very well."

"Just give her time. She'll come to accept that ye must bear the jewel, as Midoriko dictated. Kagome," she said, her voice going grave, "my time on this earth is coming to an end. I'm naming her miko of this village, and then it won't be long before my demise comes."

"Don't say that!" said Kagome, horrified at the thought of Kaede not being there with them anymore. "You'll live for a long time after tonight. You will!"

"I'm an old woman, and my life has been well-spent. I only wish my elder sister Kikyo could have lived as long and as well."

"We all do," whispered Kagome, remembering the woman that had sealed Inuyasha to the Goshinboku over fifty years ago.

"I know I am going to die soon; I've known for a long time now. I'm not as strong as I once was, and" She bent over in a fit of coughing. When the coughing stopped, she continued. "And the sickness has sapped me of my strength for many nights now. That's why I must make her a miko at once."

"Oh, Kaede," said Kagome quietly, her voice filled with sorrow. It was then that Inuyasha and Hiei showed up and saw Kagome and Kaede together. They both knew something was wrong by the tears in Kagome's eyes and the sadness in Kaede's.

"What happened?" asked Inuyasha, worried that something terrible had happened.

"I'm dying, Inuyasha," said Kaede. "I'm naming Kira my successor tonight."

He stood still, in shock, and Hiei, not knowing what was going on except that Kaede was dying and Kagome was sad, did the same.

"Kaede," whispered Inuyasha, "you can't die. You're still needed. You can't leave us."

"I don't have a choice, Inuyasha," she said hoarsely. "I know my demise is coming. That's why I have to name Kira my successor."

His ears flattened at the sound of her name. Kira didn't like any of the shard hunters, but she hated Shippo and Kirara because they were demons. However, that was nothing compared to the way she treated Inuyasha. She couldn't believe that a human would willingly take a demon as a mate, and snubbed him whenever she could.

"You could name Kagome as the resident miko," he suggested.

"Nay, that would not be satisfactory. Kagome is not here all the time, so the villagers would have to wait for her to come back if they needed her. It must be Kira."

&&


	14. Chapter 14

**Free time, and on a school night, too. Imagine that.**

**Angel452: You ask so many questions. That's a good thing. Unfortunately, with Kaede already backing Kira, Kagome and the others really can't do anything about her. Yes, Kaede knows, but she needs Kira to be the priestess of the village when she passes on.**

**Fuyu Taki: Welcome back. Visiting family can sometimes be a trial, but it's one that everyone must endure.**

&&

While they were talking, Kira was unpacking the few items she brought with her. _How DARE they try and keep the Shikon Jewel away from me! It's my right to be the protector of it! And Kaede sided with them. My own mentor! How could she?_

Now she started pacing around her small room. _Don't they know that if anyone but I guards the Jewel, it will be taken by someone? They only way to ensure that it remains safe is to keep it under my own eye. Why can't they understand that?_ Angry tears started to form in her eyes. _I know I haven't reached my full potential yet, but I'm still stronger than anyone else around these parts. Why can't they see that? Oh, now I see what they're up to! They don't want me to realize my full potential. They're trying to limit my power by keeping the Jewel away from me. It won't work! When Kaede dies, I will demand that they hand over the Jewel._

As nasty as that sounded, Kira really didn't want Kaede to die. After all, the old miko took her in a few months ago as an orphan, and raised her like a daughter. So she really was fond of the old woman, but as long a she lived, Kira couldn't possess the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls.

She calmed herself down, and exited her room to be with Kaede again, so they could prepare for tonight. She entered the room and saw Kaede still talking with Kagome, only the half-breed was there, too. And behind them was a small man, looking at them like he was a bit lost. _Hey, he's cute! Short, but cute,_ Kira thought. _He must be new; I don't remember seeing him before._

"Um, Kaede-sama," she began, "shouldn't we begin preparations for tonight?"

"Yes, child," said the aged woman. "We should start immediately. Would you three go and alert the villagers that a new miko is being appointed tonight?"

"Yes, Kaede," they murmured.

When they left, Kira turned to Kaede and asked, "Who is that short man? I don't remember seeing him before."

Kaede smiled. "Him? He was a wanderer, but somehow Inuyasha managed to convince him to stay in the village for a little while. Are ye looking for prospective mates already?"

"Well, he is good-looking," she said in her defense. "In fact, he's downright gorgeous."

"I wouldn't go courting him," counseled Kaede. "He is not human. He may not look like one, but he is a powerful demon. And he's a rare one. In fact, I've only felt one other like him, and he was taken not even six months ago."

"Forgive me for doubting you, but he is no demon. There is not even a trace of demon in him," insisted Kira. "I would have felt it if he was a demon."

"You will find out in time, Kira," sighed Kaede. "Now let us ready ourselves for tonight."

&&

The whole village watched the ceremony that night. Kagome and Robin stood with the other shard hunters, and watched Kira's aura change from blue to the pink of a miko. It was gradual, but it was interesting to see how it kept changing during the whole ceremony until it turned completely miko pink at the end. There was cheering and clapping, then celebrating. Kagome took the shard hunters aside and said, "I don't think it would be a good idea to remain here for now. How would you guys like to come and help Robin and me at my home?"

Inuyasha readily agreed, but suggested, "Why don't we stay for a little while? At least until the old bat is gone." There was no doubt as to who he was talking about. The others agreed to go with Kagome and Robin, but not until Kaede died, which they all sensed was soon. Too soon.

The next day, Kaede was stuck in bed because of her sickness. It was then that Kohaku returned to them after going to the old demon slayers' village. When he heard that Kaede was sick, he immediately went to her and refused to leave her side. He almost didn't say hello to Kagome and Robin when they stopped by. When night came around, she could barely breathe. Hiei stopped by to see her, and when Kohaku left to get some rest, he said, "You can't die. These people need you."

She tried to chuckle, but it turned into a coughing fit. "I knew I would die soon. There is nothing I can do now."

"They need you," he insisted.

"They really don't, stranger," she said. "They will be all right."

"You did many good things in your life," he said softly. "The one I remember the best was when you took in an orphan fire Koorime, and let him stay here with the other shard hunters. You didn't turn on him, like his family did."

"Hiei?" she whispered in disbelief. "It can't be!"

"I'm an older Hiei from Kagome's time," he told her. "But I remember the kind things you did to me, and I have no wish for you to die after all that. If there is anything I can do to stop it, please tell me, and I'll do it. If it costs my life, then it will be forfeit."

"Nay, there is nothing you can do," the old lady wheezed. "But do tell the others. They have missed you so much."

"Inuyasha already knows, but the others won't be able to accept me," he muttered.

"Ye underestimate them," chided Kaede gently. "They will still love ye. Give them a chance."

"Yes, Kaede," he whispered, holding her limp hand. He stayed with her for the rest of the night, and the next morning, she died.

The entire village was in mourning, for they were all close to the old woman. Inuyasha took her body and, against Kira's wishes, he and the other shard hunters buried her under the Goshinboku. The entire village came out and watched them bury her, tears freely flowing from every face. Even Hiei wasn't unaffected. He had been close to the old miko when he was a child, and she was kind even when she didn't know who he was. Now she was gone, never to see or speak words of wisdom again. It was almost more than anyone could bear to think about.

He turned away from everyone else and made his way back to the empty village. He picked up his clothes (he had to borrow some of the villagers' clothes since he didn't have an extra set with him) and set off toward the well at a slow pace, his feet dragging. He heard someone behind him and saw Kira running after him.

"Wait," she called, tears still streaming down her face. "Where are you going?"

"It's high time that I left this place," he replied, his own voice heavy with sorrow at the loss of Kaede. "I might return someday, though I don't know when."

"Please, don't go," she pleaded, falling to her knees and grabbing his ankle. "Don't leave me!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"I've known ever since I first saw you that you were the only man I can take as my mate," she said, her face still down.

It sounded so ridiculous that he stared at her. "And how did you figure this out?"

"I can feel it. We were destined for each other. Please don't leave me."

"I'm sorry, Kira, but we weren't destined for each other." She jerked her head up. "I've seen how you treat Shippo and Kirara. You hate them because they are demons. Why wouldn't you do the same to me?"

"You aren't a demon," she said.

"On the contrary, I'm a fire Koorime. Or, a fire and ice demon."

She got to her feet, shocked. "But you don't have a demon's aura," she said, dazed.

"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean that it isn't there," he stated and walked away, leaving her to stare after him.

He came to the well and jumped down it, just as Inuyasha said to. He was once again surrounded by the blue light, and took him to his own time. Quickly leaving the Higurashi Shrine, he sped across town to Kurama's home. He leaped through the window, as was his custom, and waited for Kurama to come in. He didn't have long to wait. The fox came out of the shower with nothing but a towel around his waist, which he nearly dropped when he saw Hiei sitting on his bed, waiting for him.

"Hiei!" he cried, forgetting about the towel until it started to slip off. He made a grab for it and managed to save himself some embarrassment. "Where have you been?" he demanded once the towel crisis had been fixed. "We've been looking for you! Do you know how worried everyone's been?"

"Oh, I've been out and about," Hiei said nonchalantly, knowing that Kurama hated it when he did that. Not giving a straight answer, that is.

"Well," said the flustered fox, "can you turn around for a second while I get dressed?" Hiei complied, staring at the blank wall while Kurama tried to find some clothes.

"Hey, Kurama," he called over his shoulder, "do you think I could borrow your shower? I feel incredibly dirty, and I haven't had a chance to wash in a few days."

"Sure," replied the fox, distracted by the fact that he couldn't find any suitable clothes for himself and he was having a hard time bending over to check the bottom drawers and keeping the towel on at the same time.

"Do you have any clothes I could borrow?" Hiei asked him.

Kurama sighed. _The whole world is against me today. I can't find any clothes for myself, and now Hiei wants something,_ he heard Kurama think in exasperation. "I can try and find something that will fit you. I don't think I have anything that small, but I'll look. Just leave your clothes in the bathroom; I'll take them downstairs to get washed."

"Thanks, fox," Hiei said. He walked into the bathroom, which smelled like the roses that Kurama was so fond of. _To be clean is a blessing,_ he thought as he washed off all the dirt he had accumulated since entering the well. He was especially dirty since he helped Inuyasha build his and Kagome's home, and it was hard working in the dark, when you couldn't see what was in front of you. In fact, you couldn't see anything at all. It was amazing that they were doing as well as they were.

He, like Kurama, walked out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist. He saw a white tank top and jeans laid out for him on the bed, and hurriedly pulled them on while Kurama took the dirty clothes to the laundry. When he came back up, he said, "Stay for dinner. My mother won't mind."

Since he was feeling hungry, and he loved Shiori's cooking, he agreed. He was polite and managed to get through dinner without calling Shuichi "Kurama". When they were finished, Kurama said that Hiei was "spending the night since his parents were out of town again." Shiori laughed and said, "He might as well live with us, since his parents don't seem to ever be home."

They said nothing, and the two boys made their way back to Kurama's room. That was when he pounced on Hiei, shutting the door and demanding, "Now, Hiei, where have you been?"

"I told you already, fox, I've been here and there," said Hiei, again giving him a vague answer.

Kurama growled in frustration. "That's not a good enough answer, Hiei," he warned. "Koenma wasn't able to find you; no one could. You had disappeared again." He glared at Hiei. "You didn't go back to Makai, did you?"

"No, as a matter of fact, I didn't," said Hiei coolly. "And I don't see how it's any of your or anyone's business to know what I do on my spare time."

"All right, Hiei, you don't have to tell me where you were tonight," said Kurama, conceding defeat for now, "but you'll have to tell me eventually."

Hiei could tell that he had been genuinely worried about him. Still, he didn't have to have every single detail of his life. He was still grumbling when Kurama turned out the lights, and Hiei settled himself on the floor, thinking of how to get back to the Higurashi well to visit the other shard hunters.

&&


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you, everyone, for reviewing. I'm making this short because I just have a lot to say except our football game last night sucked. We lost with a score of 0-34. Yeah, that bad.**

**Angel452: They'll find out Hiei's real identity sometime. Maybe not soon, but sometime. The STN-J still hasn't given up on Robin. I'm not quite done with that yet.**

**Starlitbaby701: We'll see what happens next in this chapter, and the chapter after that, and so on.**

&&

Inuyasha noticed when Hiei took his leave of them, but he didn't say anything. He was still distraught about the death of the last person he knew fifty years ago. Now he was the only one left. _She was old for a human. I knew she wouldn't last much longer, but… I wasn't expecting this sort of pain._ He followed Kagome when she beckoned, leaving the funeral in a daze.

They all gathered around outside the former home of Kaede. "I think that it's time we left," he stated quietly. They all nodded sadly. Their miko would be sorely missed, but they weren't going to stick around if Kira was running the show now. They split up, with Sango, Miroku, and Kohaku going to their new home to pack, and the rest of them entering the hut.

Kagome looked around for a second and said in surprise, "Hiei's stuff is gone. Did he leave already?"

Inuyasha, thinking that he might know where the fire demon went, just said, "I guess so. Let's just take our stuff and leave as soon as possible."

They exited the hut and walked towards Inuyasha's Forest, but before reaching there, they saw Kira on the ground, staring into the forest. "He left," she kept saying.

"I think she means Hiei," sniffed Inuyasha, brushing past her. They all did likewise, but she didn't indicate that she even noticed them.

They met Sango, Kohaku, and Miroku next to the well. Everyone who hadn't yet gone through the well looked nervous. They had no idea of how it worked, or if it would work.

"Let's go," sighed Kagome. "I'll go first with Sango, Kohaku, and Kirara since we won't all fit in the well at the same time."

So first it was them, then Robin took Miroku and Shippo, while Inuyasha brought up the rear. Right before he leaped after them, there was a noise coming towards him. _Now what?_ he thought impatiently. Tapping a foot on the ground in irritation, he waited for the person to appear. It was Kira, looking around.

"Something you need?" he asked irritably, standing away from the well.

She regarded him with a cold glare. "I was wondering why so many people were leaving today, the day my mentor Kaede died," she said, the last part almost a whisper.

"What we do is really none of your business," he snapped. _Come on, just go away already._

She sneered. "It is my business. Everything going on in this village is now my business."

He looked around. "This doesn't looked like the village," he said. "Go back to the others; they probably need you right now. Besides, don't you have to settle yourself in Kaede's hut?"

"Are you mocking me?" she screamed at him.

"Um, I don't know, let's try…Yeah," he said sarcastically.

"I don't have to take this from you, half-breed," she snarled. "Where are the other people?"

"No clue," he said carelessly.

"You came here together."

"Yeah, so? We split once we reached the forest. They went one way, and I went another. Got a problem with that?"

She growled at him. "If Kaede hadn't made me promise to try and tolerate you, I would've purified you a long time ago."

"That's not my problem," he said, not looking at her. _Go away already!_

"Fine," she huffed. "I won't learn anything from you." She turned on her heel and walked quickly out of the forest.

_Finally!_ He jumped into the well and entered Kagome's time.

"Where were you?" demanded Kagome when he crawled out.

"I was delayed by a certain new miko we all know and love," he said, the last part sarcastic. "She wanted to know where you all were, and wouldn't leave. That kid is too persistent."

"Tell me about it," said Robin. "She wanted to know where I came from because she didn't know where they made dresses like mine. I couldn't tell her, but she wouldn't stop asking."

"Yeah," agreed Kagome, "but she isn't here now. Let's tell Michael that we're back, and we have company so he doesn't freak out too much."

&&

Michael and Sota were cleaning up some of the trash around the area so it would be a bit cleaner when more tourists arrived tomorrow. They had been working nonstop ever since break started. Michael missed Kagome and Robin, especially their help, but he missed Robin the most. She was, after all, his girl. They had told him that things had calmed down where they were going, that there wasn't as much fighting, but that didn't mean that she wouldn't get hurt in the fights that do occur.

He was just finishing the clean-up when a voice behind him said, "Hey, Michael, we're back."

He spun around and grabbed Robin, kissing her to show how much she was missed. She kissed him back, showing how much she missed him, then pushed away a bit, saying, "We have company. They're going to help around the shrine for a while." She led him to where the others were, and said, "Guys, meet Michael. Michael, this is Miroku, Sango, Kohaku, Shippo, and Kirara. You already met Inuyasha."

As their names were said, they said something, like "Hello" or "Nice to meet you" and that kind of thing. He recognized the hanyou right away, and when his name was said, Michael greeted him, "Nice to see you again. How are you?"

Inuyasha smiled a little. "Not bad. How 'bout yourself?"

"Not bad," answered the computer genius. "Hey, Sota," he called, "they're back."

A blur came charging out of the house and latched itself onto Kagome. "You're back, you're back!" he shouted joyfully.

"What did you do to the poor kid?" asked Robin.

"Um…" said Michael.

"He was great, but it's good to have you back," said Sota while still holding his older sister.

"Okay," laughed Robin. Turning back to Michael, she said, "These people are here to help around the shrine. Is that okay?"

Michael felt like he could have flown in the air while doing acrobatics. "That's great!" he said enthusiastically. "The guys I've been having help out are good, but they're nothing compared to you guys."

The people being talked about blushed. "They couldn't be that bad," said Kagome playfully.

"You wouldn't believe how much I mean it," Michael replied. "They aren't exactly bad, but they don't know where anything is, and I can't help them all at the same time. They never ask Sota, oh no, they come to me, and I send them with Sota then."

"It's great having you back," chimed in Sota from his position on Kagome's hip. "And it's great finally meeting all of you. Kagome's told us so much about you, but we weren't able to meet you until now."

Robin clapped her hands together. "Okay," she said briskly, "let's get inside and get ready for tomorrow. How long are you guys staying?" she asked the shard hunters.

They looked at each other. "Well, how about we stay until you have to go back to school," suggested Miroku. They all nodded.

"Right. Let's go inside and get rooms ready," said Kagome. "Robin, could you make dinner? Please?"

"Sure," said Robin.

_She does the puppy-look well,_ thought Michael. _Better watch out for that._ He followed the others into the house.

&&

It was dark again. It had been light and dark for who knows how long now. Serena had been running for over three days straight. That much she knew. She didn't feel the hunters, but that didn't mean that they weren't following her.

She stumbled and nearly wrenched her ankle. She continued, but now with a limp. _I wish this were a nightmare,_ she thought as she kept walking as fast as her ankle would allow. _I want to go home. But if I do, then that would put my family in danger. I can't. I must be strong._

Serena didn't notice that she had reached a familiar place until she ran into a sign saying, "Sunset Park". _This park is in Tokyo, though. I can't have come this far already, could I?_ She stumbled onward, knowing that a friend of hers lived close. Yuki wouldn't mind if she stayed over with her. She prayed that she was there and hobbled to her front door. Luck simply wasn't with her. There was no one home. _Now what?_ she wondered in despair. _I have nowhere else to go._ Putting her head on her knees, she wished it would all end.

"Hey, aren't you Serena Tsukino?" asked a strangely familiar voice.

She jerked her head up and looked into the curious eyes of Michael Lee, a sophomore in her old school. They had never spoken to each other, but knew the other on sight. "Hai," she said cautiously.

"I didn't know that you were back in town," he said, friendly as ever. "I thought you moved."

"I did," she replied in a quiet voice. "I came back, though."

"On your own?"

She nodded, her throat closing up. "I was going to stay here with Yuki, but her family isn't here, so I don't know what I'll do."

His hand appeared at her elbow and he pulled her up. "You can always stay with us," he offered. "We have some visitors over, so what's one more person? The more, the merrier, they say."

Serena just let him pull her along to the Higurashi Shrine. She couldn't quite make it up the stairs due to a twisted ankle, so Michael had to juggle the bags of food that he bought and carry her up bridal style. He didn't complain, but she knew that he had to have cramps in his legs after that climb and carrying her while juggling bags at the same time.

Setting her down, he had her lean on him and he half-dragged her to the house. "Hey, Robin, Kagome," he called, "I found an old classmate of yours."

Robin entered the room wearing an apron. "Who-" then she saw Serena. Dropping the dishtowel she was holding, she rushed to Serena and asked, "What happened? We thought you moved."

"I did," she replied, "but I made a mistake, the one you told me not to do."

Robin's already white skin paled even more. "What happened?"

Serena looked meaningfully at Michael, or tried to since he was behind her. Robin got the gist of what she was saying and said, "It's fine. Michael used to work for them, but he doesn't anymore. You can talk freely in front of him."

She was set onto a couch, and she recounted all that had happened. Their reaction wasn't the one she was expecting. Instead of throwing her out, they were sympathetic, and when she was finished, they still were offering her a place to stay.

"Of course we won't throw you away," said Robin, astounded that she would even think they would do something like that. "I have the same problem you do. When they first started coming after me, I came here, and Mrs. Higurashi took care of me. How can I do any different? Michael," she said to the person behind Serena, "take her to the kitchen, will you? I'll get a room ready for her." She started for the stairs, where Serena assumed the rooms were.

Michael helped her make her way to the kitchen, where he left her in a chair, saying, "If you need anything, just holler, and someone will be with you shortly."

She could hear him talking to Kagome in the room that they had just left.

"Your friend Serena Tsukino is here," he told Kagome.

"I thought she moved," she responded in surprise.

"She did, but she used her wind Craft, and Amon happened to see it. She didn't want him tracking her back to her family, so she came back to Tokyo."

"Oh, poor Serena! She'll have to stay here, of course, unless she has other plans."

"Is this place going to be a safe haven of some sort for witches? That's what it looks like to me."

"If they need help, Michael, then I won't turn them away."

"I'm not saying you should," he said defensively. "Just be careful. They don't have me anymore, but they might find a replacement. If there's too much activity around here, they'll come and check it out. Then what'll you do?"

"I'll take them all down the well if I have to. From what you told me about the Orbo, no one should be shot with that sick stuff."

Silence. Then, "You're right. I'm just worried about the STN finding out what's going on."

"I understand your concern, but we'll be fine."

"If you say so. She's in the kitchen if you want to talk to her."

Footsteps, then Kagome stuck her head into the kitchen. "Hey, Serena, long time, no see."

"Hi, Kagome," she said. She tried to hide her leg when she saw that Kagome noticed it. "It's just sprained," she explained. "It's nothing, really."

"That's not nothing," said Kagome seriously. "Let me see it."

Serena shrank away from her. "It's fine. It really is."

The other girl sighed. "If you don't show me of your own free will, I'll see it without it." She held up her hand for her foot.

Serena had to acquiesce. She winced in pain as Kagome touched the hurt part. "Oh, you walked all the way to Tokyo on this?" asked Kagome incredulously.

"No," Serena gasped. "I only twisted it a little ways from here."

"It was still too far," said Kagome firmly. "Don't worry, though. I'll fix it."

Before Serena could ask what she was doing, her ankle was surrounded by a purple glow. It took away the pain that she had begun to ignore, and it made her ankle feel right again. The light dissipated, and Kagome smiled at her. "How's that? Better?"

She turned her foot around a few times, but it remained pain-free. "How did you do that?" she asked in wonder.

"That's part of my Craft," she said as an explanation. "I have healing Craft. What's yours?"

"I control the wind," Serena replied.

"Oh, that makes sense," said Kagome. "Your aura is light blue for the sky."

"Our auras tell what type of Craft we have?" asked Serena.

The other girl nodded. "So your aura is purple because it's a healing Craft?"

"No, healers are normally green, but my dominant Craft is ghost-based." She stopped for a minute and asked, "You can see auras?"

"Yes, I've always been able to. Why?"

"Only certain witches are able to see auras, and they're the more powerful ones," was the answer she got.

At this time, Robin's voice rang out, "Hey, Kagome, where did you put their extra clothes? The ones they have right now really need to be washed."

"I'll be there in a minute," she called back. "Will you be okay? There's food in the fridge and the pantry if you need anything." With that, Kagome rushed to where Robin was.

Serena, seeing the house on the inside for the first time, looked around. It looked like a normal-enough kitchen, but there were rumors that ancient things waited in seemingly innocent places, like in cupboards or drawers. Cautiously, she opened the fridge, but nothing popped out at her. Grabbing some random edible things, she shut the door and sat down. She hadn't really eaten anything since she started running, except for when she bothered to stop at a local gas station and get a drink or something small. Not wanting to be caught by the STN, she could only buy small things that could be eaten on the run.

Now, she made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It wasn't much, but she didn't want to eat them out of house and home. As she was finishing up, a girl she had never seen before came in. She looked a little uncomfortable in what she was wearing, and sat down next to Serena.

"Hi. I'm Serena Tsukino," said Serena. "Are you one of the guests that are staying here?"

"Yes, I am. My name is Sango. I don't know where the others are at the moment, but welcome. Are you helping with the shrine, too?"

"Um, sure, if that's what they want me to do," Serena replied.

"Great!" exclaimed Sango. "I heard them talking, and it sounds like it's hard."

"It's not that bad," said Serena. "I did it before, and you only have to man the food or drink booth, or take the tourists around the place. It's not too hard. Just time consuming."

At this point, a man she assumed was another guest wandered in, looking a little lost. Serena saw Sango tense ever so slightly at his entry, but relaxed when all he did was ask, "Have you seen where Kagome and Robin went? They told me to bring this soap to them." He held up a box of Tide for them to see.

"Sorry, I don't. I'm sure they're here somewhere."

"I could give it to them," volunteered Serena. "I may not know where they are, but I think I have an idea."

The man gave her a look of gratitude. "Thank you, my lady. You don't know how confusing this huge place is."

She smiled at him. "On the contrary, I know perfectly well how confusing it is." She took the soap and started hunting for the elusive laundry room. She passed many likely spots for one, but they were just storerooms for old antiques.

She was starting to give up hope of finding it when Robin appeared out of the door that she was about to open, and said in a frustrated voice, "I sent Miroku out for Tide, and he forgets. Just shows how much he pays attention." Then she saw Serena right in front of her and said, "Oh, hi. Didn't expect to see you so soon. Did you see a guy with black hair and a small ponytail around here?"

"He wasn't sure where you were, so I offered to take the Tide to you," she said shyly.

"Oh, thanks," said Robin with a surprised look on her face. "I forgot that he wasn't used to things around here yet. They only got here last night," she explained. "So, how long are you planning on staying with us?" she asked while she and Kagome started doing laundry.

"Well, I didn't plan on staying anywhere until Michael showed up. I'll stay as long as you'll have me, I guess."

"In that case," said Kagome as she hauled more strange clothes into the washer, "you'll be staying a long time. You're welcome to stay as long as you want. We won't throw you out. If someone didn't tell you already, most people staying here are witches like you, so we won't turn you in, or anything like that."

Serena smiled at them, her heart feeling like it would burst. "You don't know how much that means to me," she whispered.

"Maybe, maybe not, but if you stay here, then you have to work," Kagome said with mock severity.

Serena snapped her a salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Okay. You can start by getting dinner ready," came Robin's muffled voice. "I'm tired of doing the cooking every night."

&&


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay, my sister had the computer Sunday, so I couldn't update. Sorry.**

**Angel452: So many questions! Not that that's a bad thing. We'll find out more about the STN in this chapter. Um, Inuyasha and Kagome will continue being Inuyasha and Kagome, no big changes. Sailor Scouts aren't looking for Serena; at least, I'm not writing about it right now.**

&&

Keiko looked around nervously. She was looking for work, and someone, she couldn't remember who, recommended the STN-J. They were supposed to be some sort of secret agents for the government, only they were a worldwide organization. She didn't know what to expect from them, and was wary because of it. Her guide, a woman named Ms. Karasuma, was nice and explained things when Keiko asked her a question. She even showed Keiko where they kept the witches they captured. It gave her the creeps, and she could tell that Ms. Karasuma was uncomfortable in there, so the hurried past that place.

"So, what do you think of the place?" asked Karasuma.

"I think it's a great place!" Keiko said enthusiastically. "When would I start work?"

"You would have to ask Zaizen that question," replied her guide. "He's the main boss and knows everything. Let's go see him now if you're sure that you want to work with us."

"I'm sure," said Keiko firmly. They walked into Zaizen's office and waited for him to notice them, which he did very quickly.

"Ah, Ms. Yukimura, is it?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," she responded respectfully.

"You want to work with the STN-J?"

"Yes, sir," she repeated in the same tone.

"I see. Kosaka," he called.

"Sir?" asked the chief, appearing as if he was conjured.

"Register Ms. Keiko Yukimura as a member of the STN immediately. She will work with Amon, and Sasha can work in the office."

"Yes, sir!" Chief Kosaka bustled off to do as Zaizen asked.

"You will start work immediately," he said.

"Yes, sir!" she mimicked Kosaka.

The boss dismissed Karasuma and Keiko, so they went out to the main work area, which was just outside his office.

"Looks like you made it, kid," Karasuma said. "Welcome to the team."

"Hey, Karasuma," called Sasha from her seat in front of the computer. "I've got something for you to look at."

"Let's see what she wants," said Karasuma to Keiko. They walked over to her and saw a face on the screen, and words next to it.

"This is Chase Winter," Sasha stated as she scrolled down. "He lives in Kyoto and has killed three people by making the ground swallow them."

"Okay, I'll tell Amon and take Sakaki down to investigate," she replied.

"Telling Amon won't be necessary," said a deep voice behind them. Karasuma whirled around, saying, "Amon, we've got another witch to hunt."

"I can see that. We'll go take him, but first explain to me why my partner is behind a computer and who is this?"

"Oh, right," stammered Karasuma. "This is Keiko Yukimura, a new recruit. She's going to be your partner until she's comfortable enough to go solo. Sasha's been given Michael's old job."

"We can't afford to lose such a good hunter," he stated. "Sasha's coming too. I'll talk to Zaizen about this." He strode into the office and shut the door firmly behind him.

"Well, Zaizen'll probably go with Amon this time since he's right; we can't afford to lose valuable hunters. This'll be your first case, so watch everyone and do as your told," she told the nervous Keiko. "We'll keep you out of harm's way, but you have to obey orders."

"Yes, ma'am," replied Keiko, now getting excited. She was going to see the others in action. This is what she would be doing in the future.

Amon stepped out of the office. "Sasha, you're coming too. We're not wasting you by keeping you in front of a machine all day." He handed them all a gun, even Keiko, though hers had just plain bullets while everyone else had Orbo. "Let's go," he commanded and strode out the door without waiting to see if they would follow him.

"When Amon says move, we move," murmured Karasuma to Keiko as they hustled out after him. "You can ride with me and Sakaki. Normally you'd stay with Amon, but since you're new, you'll just hang around and watch. Got that?"

Keiko nodded vigorously. She was excited about going on her first job, and she had only just seen the building. A boy a few years older than her slid into the passenger seat and looked back, asking Karasuma, "Since when did we take passengers with us?"

"She's new," was her reply. "She'll be Amon's partner until she's good enough to go solo."

"Okay. Nice to meet you. The name's Sakaki. What's yours?"

"I'm Keiko Yukimura," she said shyly. They didn't talk much after that until they neared where Chase Winter was supposed to be. Amon briefed them via phone, and they spoke of what the strategy was going to be. Keiko listened, trying to figure out what they were doing but failing miserably.

They abandoned the cars a few blocks from where they were supposed to meet. On foot, they cautiously approached the building. Keiko chose an inconspicuous spot to watch them work. Watching them enter the old warehouse, she could only listen to the silence until the sound of gunshots were heard from inside. She saw someone leave the building and stumble to where she was hidden. Not being able to see who it was, she did nothing until he was close enough to see her and vice versa. It was none other than the witch they were currently hunting.

He leered at her, and instinct made her move from where she was standing. Just in time, too. Looking back, she saw a gaping black hole where she had stood seconds before. The terrified Keiko shakily pointed her gun at him. He only laughed and twisted his hands in a strange way. Again, she threw herself to the side, and a hole was where she used to stand.

"Playing tag, girlie?" he sneered.

"S-stay away from me," she panted, once again leveling the gun at him.

"You can't harm me with that," he said. He moved forward, startling her.

She yelped and her fingers accidentally pulled the trigger. He screamed, blood pouring from the opening in his leg. He looked up with rage in his eyes. "You'll pay for that," he snarled. He moved forward again, but the sound of a shot going off was heard, and his eyes rolled up. He collapsed, revealing Amon standing behind him.

"Good job," he said, examining the witch.

"I didn't do anything," responded Keiko, feeling sick. That was the first time she had shot someone, and it didn't sit well with her.

"You slowed him down, making it possible for us to catch him," he told her, standing up. Before she could say anything else, he took out his cell phone and called a place called the "Factory" to tell them the witch was ready to be picked up.

"You really scared Amon," Sakaki's voice said behind her.

"I don't think so," she replied.

"No, you did," Karasuma agreed with Sakaki. "He moved faster than normal when he realized where the witch was."

"How did he know?" she wondered.

"Who can say? He just said 'He's outside by the recruit.' and so we all went out after him."

"He doesn't seem like someone who would really care about a recruit," Keiko ventured.

Karasuma and Sakaki chuckled at this. "You're right, he doesn't seem the type, but it kills him every time we lose someone. Once he started going solo, he was fine, but it tore him up when his partner Kate was killed. Then we had to hunt her replacement, Robin Sena. I don't know how he stays sane after his partners seem to drop like flies."

"Um, Ms. Karasuma, did you say that you _hunted_ his last partner?"

"She was a witch, unfortunately. She was a nice girl, always polite, but Zaizen said to hunt her, so we didn't have a choice."

"So, Zaizen just decided to hunt her one day?"

"Oh, no!" Karasuma exclaimed. "He was given proof that she was a witch. He didn't want to hunt her unless absolutely necessary. She was a good hunter, after all, and those are hard to come by. And a Craft-user. Those are people that have the power of a witch, but they help catch other witches," she explained, seeing Keiko's confused look.

They waited for the Factory trucks to come and collect the witch, and when they finally came, Amon gave the orders to go home. "Yukimura," he called. "Wait for a minute."

She trotted over and asked, "Yes, Mr. Amon?"

"Here." He handed her his phone. "You'll be getting your own tomorrow, but if we need you, we have a way of calling you."

"Yes, um, thank you, Mr. Amon," she stammered. He just turned around and got into his car.

She went back to where Ms. Karasuma and Sakaki were waiting for her. "What did Amon want?" asked Sakaki as they got in.

"He gave me his phone," she said staring at it.

"Hm, he probably thinks that we'll be getting a call tonight about another witch, then," Karasuma said as she carefully threaded her way through traffic. "Keep it on and sleep light, Yukimura."

"Yes, ma'am," Keiko responded.

They stopped at Raven's Flat, where Keiko and Sakaki got out. He went to the garage and got out his motorcycle. "Do you need a lift?" he asked her.

"Yes, please," she said. She directed him to where she lived, and after thanking him, went inside. "I'm home," she called out to her parents.

"How was the job interview?" her mom asked.

"It went great! I was accepted."

"Good job, baby!" her dad said from his place behind the counter of their ramen shop. "That Tanner boy called while you were away."

"Oh, I'll call him back. Thanks." She ran up the stairs to her room, where she dialed his home phone.

"Hello?" She must have woken him up. Oh, well.

"Hi, Tanner. I got the job!"

"That's great, but do you know what time it is?"

She looked at the clock. It read 11:30 p. m. "Sorry, but I just got in and didn't look at the clock. My dad said that you called earlier."

"Yeah, I just wanted to know if you got the gig, which you did. I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. The people I'm working with were all nice. Well," she amended, thinking of Amon, "they weren't hostile."

"That's good. Hey, King Yama has a mission for me tomorrow, but it shouldn't take very long. Did you want to do something tomorrow night?"

"Um, I don't know if I'll be at work then, but if I can't make it, I'll let you know. How's that?"

"It's a date. See you tomorrow, hopefully. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." They hung up. "What did I do to deserve such a loving guy?" she asked herself aloud. Remembering Karasuma's warning, she put the phone by her bed and drifted into a light sleep.

Sure enough, a loud beeping woke her. Forgetting that is was the phone, she looked around frantically for the source of the noise, then remembered that she had Amon's phone with her. She picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey, Yukimura, this is Sasha. We've tracked another witch in Chiba. Can you make it to Raven's Flat without assistance?"

"Yeah, I can," she said sleepily.

"Okay, see you in a few." She hung up. _I don't know how I'm going to do this on school days if this is what normally happens,_ she thought. Getting dressed, she quietly exited her home and ran to Raven's Flat. Upon reaching her goal, she saw the rest of the team ready to leave.

"Good hustle, Yukimura," said Sasha. "We didn't think you'd be this quick."

"I didn't want to keep everyone waiting too long," she said modestly.

"If everyone's ready," said Amon, once again the first to get the car running and out of the garage. Keiko rode with Karasuma and Sakaki again. She listened to them talk while trying not to fall asleep again. In next to no time, compared with the trip to Kyoto, they had arrived in Chiba.

"Okay," said Amon in his deep voice when everyone had gathered around his car, "the witch we're hunting is named Crystal Minx, and has the power of water. Be careful, since she can summon water from out of nowhere, and blow you down. Yukimura, you did well this afternoon, but I don't want to rush you into making a mistake and costing us the witch."

"I'll be fine, Mr. Amon," she assured him. "How will I learn what to do and what not to do if I don't learn from experience?"

He gave her the world's tiniest smile for less than a second. "Then follow and obey orders. Move out."

Keiko stuck with Amon and Sasha for this witch. "Karasuma and Sakaki need to focus on what their job is," he said as an explanation to her inquiring look.

This time, they gave her an Orbo bullet gun. She was handling the stuff with care since they had told her how valuable it was. Sakaki even told her what happened when he wasted five bullets of the stuff. It seemed way too severe a punishment for his mistake, but he shrugged it off. "Now I know better."

They were all on alert, watching for the slightest movement of their quarry. This one was very careful, though, and it was a long time before they saw any trace of her. When they saw her run past a row of shelves full of machine parts, Amon and Sasha went after her, Keiko a few feet behind them. They kept running until they hit a dead end. The experienced hunters looked around, and saw her tumble the shelves over their exit. Now they were trapped on one side, and Crystal and Keiko were on the other side.

"I never would have believed that these people would fall so easily into my traps," she said, shaking her head in mock sadness. "The other two did the exact same thing. Now it's your turn." She advanced on the quaking Keiko.

"S-stay back!" cried Keiko, holding her shaking gun in front of her.

"You can't shoot when you're shaking that bad," noted Crystal, stepping forward.

Keiko closed her eyes and pulled back the trigger. A scream was heard from in front of her. Opening her eyes, she saw the water witch writhing on the ground in agony. She had been shot in the right shoulder, and was glaring daggers up at the terrified high-school girl. This time Keiko aimed for her chest and fired. The witch stopped moving immediately. Hearing a noise behind her, she spun around and saw Sasha and Amon come out of the cleared debris.

Amon took one look at the witch and said, "Sasha, call the Factory. The witch is ready to be gotten." He swiftly moved past Keiko to where Karasuma and Sakaki were trapped.

Once she finished talking to the Factory, Sasha turned to Keiko and said, "You've done an astounding job! We're all impressed. You only came to us today, and look at what you've already done. Two witches in your first day! Dang, girl, you're making the rest of us look bad."

"I didn't really do anything," Keiko replied in response to Sasha's praise. "Mr. Amon got the other witch, and my fingers just tightened out of reflex."

"Hon, you are a natural. Even Amon sees it. He just won't go around giving compliments to people. However, you deserve some praise for doing what you've already done."

Amon came back with Karasuma and Sakaki. "Don't close your eyes," he said to Keiko. "You may not be so lucky next time." He walked off, leaving the rest of them in his wake.

"How did he know that?" she asked Karasuma.

"That's just Amon. He knows things he isn't supposed to. Don't ask how he knows, he won't answer. Just leave him be, and he'll do the same." She and Sakaki were staring at the shoulder wound that the witch now sported. Keiko couldn't tell what they were thinking, but both of their expressions were sad.

They arrived back at Raven's Flat around five in the morning. They called out their good nights to each other and left for their homes. Keiko walked home this time, still with Amon's phone. "We probably won't be calling you again," he had said, "but I'd rather not be surprised and unprepared."

She entered her home to find her parents just opening the shop. "It's six already?" she asked sleepily.

"Where have you been?" her mom demanded.

"Work," she yawned. "They called early this morning, and I had to go."

Her mom still looked like she was going to chastise her, but Mr. Yukimura stepped in. "As long as it's for work. If you're going out just because your friends invite you to stay out all night, then that's not okay, but in this case, it's fine."

She smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Dad," she said.

"You go to bed now," her mom said, lightening up.

"Okay. Good night," she called as she stumbled up the stairs and fell into her bed, asleep before her head hit the pillow.

&&


	17. Chapter 17

**Okay, I'm back and ready to work.**

**Fuyu Taki: No, Keiko doesn't know. Robin and Michael haven't said anything about it, and the STN isn't exactly a widely known organization. It was by chance that Keiko found out, and since they like to keep themselves to themselves, she won't go spouting off what she does.**

**Angel452: Keiko's boyfriend, Tanner, is basically looking for the same thing Hiei is, only he's looking for Yama, not Koenma. Robin's laying low right now, so the STN doesn't have a lead to where she is. Oh, and Hiei isn't going back in this story. Maybe the next one…**

&&

Kagome woke to the sound of voices outside. _What is going on?_ she wondered grumpily. Covering yawns, she unsteadily made her way to the source of the voices.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

Sango and Robin spun around at the sound of her voice. "Oh, Kagome," said Robin, "It's about time you were up. The tours have already started."

"They have? What time is it?"

"It's almost noon. We were just debating whether to go up and wake you."

"How is everything going?"

"Things are running smoothly," said Sango. "We have Miroku and Kohaku showing the visitors around, and the rest of us are running the booths, Robin calls them."

"Good. Did anyone extra come?"

"Yes, actually." Robin sounded surprised. "Some people from school are helping, and today lots of students from Meioh High are helping."

"So, there's no shortage of workers?"

"None whatsoever," Sango affirmed.

"I'll just get dressed, and help too," Kagome said, making her way back to the stairs. Dressing quickly, she grabs something to eat and heads outside, where there were many tourists wandering around.

Sota spotted her and walked over. "Hey, Kagome, since there are a lot of people here, do you think I could go over to one of my friends' houses?"

She looked around, and saw that things were going all right and nodded. "Sure. Do you need someone to drive you over?"

"No, I can walk." With that, he tore down the steps to wherever he was going.

Someone bumped into her. "Oh, I'm sorry," said the voice of one of the boys from Meioh High.

"It's fine," she said, turning to see who it was. Shuichi's green eyes looked back at her.

"Again, I'm sorry. I should pay more attention to where I'm going."

"Like I said, it's fine. No one was hurt, no damage was done to anything."

He gave her a smile that would melt most girls into a puddle of bliss and walked back to the other boy. She could see other girls working near them watching the redhead and practically drooling. _If I didn't have Inuyasha, I would probably be like them._ To say he was a good-looking guy would be stingy. But in her eyes, he was on equal footing with Inuyasha, though some prejudiced people would say not, since Inuyasha was a hanyou, and could never compare to a full human.

Looking around for said hanyou, she saw him talking to a family with two small children. The small ones were tugging his ears from the parents' arms, but he didn't seem to mind. They finished, and the couple took their children to look at something else. The children still looked at Inuyasha, who was still amusing them by making his ears twitch. They laughed happily until they could no longer see him.

"What was that about?" she asked, coming up behind him.

"So, you're awake," he said, not answering her question.

"What did they want?" She asked a different question this time.

"They wanted to know why some people were dressed up, and who I was supposed to be, and that sort of thing."

"So what did you tell them?"

"I was Inuyasha, the half-demon who killed the priestess guarding the Shikon no Tama."

"Is that it? It sounds kind of gruesome."

"Well, I told them an abbreviated version of our adventures to find the Jewel shards."

"That's more acceptable."

Kagome looked around again and asked, "What exactly are you doing? Do you tell the story of the Shikon Jewel?"

"Yeah, and so do others. They're in other parts of the place."

"Oh. Well, I'll let you do your job and see where I'm needed." She waved good-bye and wandered over to Michael. "Where do you need me?" she asked.

"You can help with the drinks again," he said distractedly.

She nodded and headed over to a drink booth. _Looks like it's going to be a long day._

&&

Everyone was relaxing in Kagome's family room. There was only day of vacation left, and the shard hunters were leaving later that day. The shrine was not giving tours today since they needed to get ready for school.

"Do you have everything you need for tomorrow?" Kagome asked Sota, worried that he might forget something important.

"Yes, Kagome," he answered. He and Kohaku had gotten close since the young demon slayer had come. She could tell that Sota would miss him when he left.

"What did you guys think of this time?" asked Robin from her seat on the couch.

Miroku answered her first. "It was very enlightening. I had no idea so much progress had been made in almost five centuries. It's amazing, and I enjoyed being here thoroughly."

"Yes," agreed Sango, "it was interesting. There are no demons here that threaten humans anymore. I find that a bit hard to believe. It's a blessing, but since we've been raised to hunt demons, it's hard to accept that there are no more."

"There are demons here," contradicted Kagome, "we just don't see them."

"The weaponry is advanced," observed Kohaku. "If we had that kind of equipment, then hunting demons wouldn't be quite so hard or hazardous."

Sango nodded. She knew how hard it was to be a demon slayer.

Looking outside, Kagome noted that it was already dark, and her friends had to leave. "Okay, guys, it's dark."

They all stood and trooped outside. Robin had sent Serena out for food, since she didn't know about the well or the Sengoku Jidai. They had said good-bye to her before she left.

They said good-bye to the shard hunters, promising to see them at the earliest possible time. Tears flowed, and hugs were passed around. They were still a bit wary of Miroku's, but he didn't do anything the least bit lecherous.

"Good luck with Kira," said Kagome, thinking sadly that Kaede wouldn't be there anymore.

"Thanks. We'll need it," replied Sango. "It's a good thing we decided not to build in the village. Now we don't have to answer to her."

"There are demons in Inuyasha's Forest, though. Won't they be a danger to the children?"

"What do you think I am?" she asked indignantly. "Kohaku and I are demon slayers, you know."

"Sorry," Kagome apologized. "I just thought that you would want your kids to be away from demons and things that could harm them."

"There's no such place," Sango informed her. "There is danger everywhere. As much as I would like to keep them safe, there is no real safe haven that's danger-free. Right now I'll be satisfied with keeping them away from Kira."

"That sounds like a good idea," laughed Kagome. "I guess I'll see y'all later."

They waved and jumped down the well to their time.

"I'll miss having them around," murmured Robin.

"We all will," said Michael, putting an arm around her waist.

Kagome sighed. "We start school tomorrow; let's make sure everything's ready."

"I checked everything this morning," responded Michael. "We're all set to go."

"Good. Thanks," said a relieved Kagome. "You really didn't have to do that, Michael."

"I know. I was bored, and everyone else was still asleep, so I just got things ready. I didn't think you'd mind."

"You thought correct," said Robin, burrowing her head into his neck.

"Now we need to wait for Serena to come back with the food, and I'll get started on dinner and lunch for tomorrow."

They waited for a half-hour before Serena came back, pulling a large wagon behind her bike. "The groceries are here," she sang out, signaling that they were needed to bring the food in. They all hurried to assist her, since they didn't want the food to get wet; the rain clouds were closing in fast. With the food and people inside, they ate and got ready for bed. Michael had switched Serena back to their school earlier, so there was nothing they needed to worry about.

None of them were happy when their alarm clocks went off the next morning. Acting like zombies, they forced themselves to eat and trudge to school. When they arrived, they saw that the other students were the exact same way except for Keiko, Tanner, and the other smart people.

"How can they be so happy when school is starting again?" Kagome grumbled to Robin. "It's just not right."

"Well, maybe they aren't happy unless they're showing off for their classes," suggested Robin.

"Maybe…" trailed off Michael. "I need to get to class. See you two later." He waved good-bye and walked off.

"You know, he doesn't seem to unhappy to be back here," observed Kagome.

"I think he know something we don't," replied Robin, dragging her friend to their lockers. "Let's just get rid of all the stuff we don't need, and get to class before the rush."

They mechanically took their stuff out and put more stuff in, then dragged their feet to Mr. Takenaka's room, where Serena was already sitting in her seat.

The bell rang far too soon for the students. They came in, groaning all the way. When everyone was seated, Mr. Takenaka cleared his throat and stood up. "Our school has been thinking about getting to know our fellow high schools better, and we've come up with an idea. It's not a good idea, and it may not work, but towards the end of the year, they want to have all the schools in the area go to the park and have a type of overnight party, or something like that. Now," he bellowed to be heard over the excited talking that his statements caused, "it's not official, and it won't happen until the end of the school year. The teachers were instructed to tell you students, and now that I have, class will begin."


	18. Chapter 18

**I just have one thing to say: I LOVE 3-DAY WEEKENDS!**

**Angel452: The answer to most of your questions is no. Inuyasha won't be alright with the new miko around, but that's debatable, I guess. He won't go back to Kagome; she'll have to go to him. Keiko won't find out about Kagome and Robin, at least, not yet. The last one, though, that one's a yes. Hiei won't go back, but he will tell Kagome. You ask such intelligent questions.**

&&

The rest of the school year went by in a blur. They only had seven weeks left, and there was no word that the get-together of the schools would ever be put into action. Then Yuki, a friend of theirs, ran up to Kagome as she and her fellow housemates meandered towards the school.

"Hey, guys, you won't believe it!" she shrieked, trying to get to them.

"What happened, Yuki?" asked Robin. "You look like the man of your dreams came and asked you out."

"It's not that good, but it's still good news. They're going through with the overnight!"

"I don't see what's so special about it," said a disinterested Michael.

"It means that the last days of school will be used for the overnight! We don't have school for those days. It's required of the students unless a doctor says you can't, or something like that."

"I'll go," said Kagome, excited at the thought of not having school two days early. "Do you know when it is? Like what time?"

"We all come to school, then go to the park. It's not near here, so we have to take buses. I heard that the place is HUGE! It would have to be, to keep four or five schools in it. The schools are zoned, so we're sharing an area with just one school."

"We can't go to another part of the park?" asked Robin, a bit disappointed.

"We can, but we'll be sleeping in our 'zone'. I think we're sharing with, um, what was it again…" she got a confused look.

"Was it Han A' High?" suggested Robin.

"No, it started with an 'S', I think," she murmured.

"I don't know… do you know a school name that starts with 'S'?" Kagome asked Robin, who shook her head no.

"Oh." Yuki slapped her head. "I remember now! It's Meioh High."

They facevaulted. Yuki looked at them and said sheepishly, "Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking of our school."

They glared at her. "Well, at least you told us," Kagome told her, always the forgiving person unless she was pushed her too far. "Even if it was the wrong letter."

"Got to go now," Yuki stated cheerfully. "Must spread the news, you know." She bounced away as Kagome and Robin recovered from their facevault. "I'm glad I don't have to spend as much time here as I thought," said Kagome, looking at the human-shaped craters she and Robin left in the cement.

"Bib he hay Maow Hah?" asked Robin, her voice muffled since her head was still stuck to the ground and made her hard to understand.

"What? I can't understand you," said a perplexed Kagome.

Robin placed her hands firmly on the cement next to her head. She pushed hard, and was able to lift herself high enough to get up. She barely made it, but with Kagome's help managed to stand on her feet again.

"I said, Did she say Meioh High?" Robin repeated.

"Oh. Um, yes, she did, why?"

"What a coincidence. We know some of those people. They were a big help around the shrine when tourists were here."

A light bulb went off in Kagome's head. "Yeah, I remember now. Don't Yusuke's friends go there?"

"Yup. I bet they'll be thrilled. I just hope we aren't put next to them."

"Do you think they'll let us pick where we get to stay?"

"I don't know. Let's just go and see, shall we? Hey, where's Michael and Serena?" They looked around and saw that they had already left for their classes. Following their lead, they walked behind Serena to their classroom.

When the bell rang, signaling that classes started, Mr. Takenaka once again stood in front of the class and said, "It has been confirmed that the overnight party is going to happen. Now, we will meet here and take buses to the place. It will only be for one night, so don't take too much. We will supply tents. Are there any questions?"

"Are we going to choose our tent buddies?" someone asked.

"No, we will be telling you where you're staying, and who you will be staying with."

"Does this mean we have to share tents?" someone else asked.

"Yes, there won't be any tents that have less than two and more than four. You may find that you're bunking with people from Meioh High; we're sharing the same area. Any more questions?" As there were none, he started class.

Again, the weeks flew by in a blur. They were able to go to the Feudal Era during the weekends, which thrilled Kagome and irked Michael, as he had to stay and take care of Sota, who would be staying with a friend while they were away on the school trip. It wasn't too bad since Serena stayed with him; they had to explain things to her since she lived there.

At last, the day arrived when they were to stay in a park full of strangers. They were to be told who they were staying with when they got to school. Upon reaching the sheet in front of their class that said who stayed with who, they found that they all would be staying together. Michael couldn't stay with them since he was a boy, but his tent was right next to theirs.

The bus ride was uneventful. The view was beautiful, but it was a looooong ride; four hours, to be exact. Kagome couldn't believe how many rounds of "1,000,000 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" they could get through. Now she dreaded the return trip. Serena, her seatmate, had fallen asleep and was leaning against the wall of the bus. Robin and Michael were sitting across from them, but they were having their own conversation, and she didn't want to interrupt. _Serena has the right idea,_ she thought, but it was her curse that she couldn't fall asleep when there were so many other strangers around. So she stared out the window over Serena's sleeping form at the scenery.

"Okay, everyone," said the bus driver from the speakers, "we're almost there. Please get your stuff together and prepare to enter the park." Sure enough, they arrived ten minutes later. Serena needed to be yelled at and shaken in order to wake her up, but it was done in the end. The students shuffled off the bus and waited for their teacher to lead them to their area. Luckily it was only a few minutes walk from where they were. But after that they still had to find their tent.

"What number were we again?" asked Kagome, looking around. "Weren't we in the 300's?"

"Yes, our number is 356," answered Robin distractedly, looking for said number on the tents they were passing.

"What kind of order are these tents in?" complained Serena, her head trying to face left and right at the same time.

"The odds are on the left and evens are one the right," Robin said.

"Oh," she said sheepishly. "Do you know if there's a boy side and a girl side of the area?"

"There isn't," Robin responded. "If there was, then how come Michael is staying in the tent right next to ours?"

"That's right. Sorry about asking all these stupid questions."

"It's fine. Oh! Ladies, we've arrived," she announced.

The tent wasn't exceptionally big, but with all of them inside, it was roomy enough.

"Good thing there's only the three of us," commented Kagome. "There might not be enough room for another person and not feel claustrophobic."

The other two nodded their agreement.

"Hey," yelped Robin, whose head was outside the tent flap. She quickly brought it back in and said, "Guess who's on the other side of us?"

"We give up. Who?" asked Serena.

"Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the redhead from Meioh High."

"Oh, no," groaned Kagome. "We aren't going to get any sleep tonight." They knew how rowdy those boys tended to get when they were together.

"Let's not worry about that right now," Robin stated briskly. "We still have a long while before it's dark. We might as well go out and enjoy the sunshine while we can. Michael's waiting for us." They stepped out into the light and explored for a bit. They met Michael in front of some large trees where the buses dropped them off.

When the light receded and was replaced by darkness, the teachers came around and lit fires for the students. They were all told that under no condition were the flames to leave the fire pit or there would be dire consequences. Michael chose to stay with them and talk for a bit. The boys he was sharing a tent with had some of their own friends by their fire.

"What's wrong, Serena?" he asked in concern, noting that the girl had her knees drawn up to her head and was staring moodily into the fire.

"Hm? What? Sorry, I was just thinking about my family," she murmured.

They all looked down. "You know, I'm amazed my family hasn't shown up yet," said Kagome softly. "As much as I hate Kendal, I still love my mom and grandpa."

"I lived with my mom before the STN," sighed Michael. "She never knew why I left. Her heart was weak, and she died a couple years after the STN took me."

"Oh, Michael," Robin moved over and put her arms around him. The other two looked at him with sympathy.

"I'm okay with it," he said. "It happened a few years ago, so it's not as bad as it was then. I mean, at least I knew her. You, Robin, didn't know either of your parents."

"True enough," she responded, "but how can you miss what you've never known? It doesn't bother me that I don't know who my parents are."

After telling a few more life stories and a couple marshmallow bags later, Michael called the quits. Yawning, he stumbled over to where his tent buddies were.

"I think I'll turn in too," mumbled Kagome. The other two followed her into the tent after putting out the fire. The other girls fell asleep quickly, but Kagome couldn't seem to find a good spot; every sharp rock happened to be right where her back was. Giving up, she stood and walked outside. The only fire still on was the one right next door, the one belonging to Yusuke and his group. As she got closer to them, she could hear their voices.

"So, what does the toddler want us to do?" asked Yusuke, looking at his companions and then out into the trees.

It was the redheaded Shuichi that answered him. "I'm not sure. He seemed upset about something, but he wouldn't tell me what was wrong."

_What are they talking about?_ Kagome wondered in bewilderment. _Everyone knows that toddlers can't talk. What is with them?_

Kuwabara started talking. "Why can't he give us a break? I mean, we still have lives of our own, and aren't at his beck and call, right?"

"I'm afraid our lives are no longer our own," said Shuichi sadly. "If we don't do as he asks, then there won't be any life except for demon life on this planet."

"That's just not fair," complained Yusuke. "We never have time to have fun. It's always, 'Guys, you have another mission' or 'It's time to do your duty as Spirit Detectives again'. I hate it when he does that. I never said I wanted to be a Spirit Detective."

"Life isn't fair," said a voice that was strangely familiar.

The three boys all turned and faced the trees. "I didn't think you'd be joining this conversation, Hiei," said Shuichi.

_Oh, that's where I know that voice. It's the other boy from Meioh High._

"I can't stand them whining about how life isn't fair, and that sort of thing," was his cool response.

"Care to join us by the fire?" offered Yusuke. Kuwabara looked a little scared, but relaxed when the offer was declined.

"I'm fine where I am," his voice said.

"Okay. So," he turned back to Shuichi, "do we have a mission, or don't we?"

"I'm pretty sure he needs us for something, so keep your days free."

"Does it have something to do with Tanner?" asked Kuwabara.

Yusuke visibly stiffened, and the redhead nodded affirmation. "I think so. Like I said, he isn't telling me anything."

"If Tanner is involved," Yusuke threatened tightly, "he'll wish he was never born."

"You do know that we aren't allowed to attack him," Hiei's voice reminded him. "I would have already done so if I was able to."

"I know, but I really don't like him."

"No one blames you, Yusuke," Shuichi tried to soothe him. "You have more reason to hate him than the rest of us, but you must still follow those rules. Do you want King Yama to have Tanner get rid of you?"

He still looked angry, but didn't look like he was going to kill someone. "I'm turning in for the night," he said sullenly. "See you guys in the morning." He and Kuwabara went inside.

Shuichi turned to the tree where Hiei's voice seemed to be coming from and said, "Okay, Hiei, I've waited long enough. Tell me where you disappeared to."

Silence. "Hiei," Shuichi warned him.

"Like I said, fox, it's none of your business."

"You're our friend, Hiei, and we worry about you. You should have seen Koenma; he didn't get any sleep the entire time you were gone."

The sound of harsh laughter was heard at this statement. "Of course he'd be worried. Not too long ago I was trying to destroy this world."

"It wasn't because of that. It could have contributed to his worry, but he was more worried like a friend would be."

A heavy sigh. "Will you leave me alone if I tell you?"

"Yes, Hiei."

"You probably won't believe me."

"You're my friend. Why wouldn't I believe you?"

"Because it sounds so farfetched that even I have trouble believing it."

"Try me."

"Koenma wanted me to check out the Higurashi Shrine, so I did. I found more than I expected to. There's a well there that acts as a time portal, and I happened to fall into it."

"You fell?" inquired a skeptical Shuichi.

"Yes, I fell. I tripped over a cat and fell the wrong way. It brought me back to a time in my past. I had only stayed there for a few months, but I recognized it anyway." He stopped.

"Where was it?" prompted his listener.

"Inuyasha's Forest and the village of the shard hunters of the Shikon no Tama," the voice whispered.

"I was there also," mused Shuichi. "That was the place where the miko shot me and I had to flee here to Ningenkai. Did that happen when you were there?"

"No. The old priestess Kaede died and her apprentice took over. I left right after that."

"You must have gone after I was killed. I don't remember hearing about a new priestess before I went for the Jewel. Were you there the entire time?"

"Yes."

"That's a bit odd. Normally you don't like staying in one place for very long."

"I was raised there for a few months by the shard hunters. They took me in when I was abandoned by thieves, and treated me like I was one of them. Later I was taken back by the same thieves and never saw them again until then."

Shuichi looked like he was going to ask more, but a barrage of yawns stopped him. "I'm sorry, but I think it's time for me to sleep. Good night." He made a move to put out the fire, but the voice stopped him.

"I'll do that later. You get your sleep."

The boy smiled gratefully into the trees and entered the tent. As soon as the flap closed, a figure stepped out of the wooded area and approached the fire. Kagome gasped quietly. It was the same man that claimed to be a wanderer in the Sengoku Jidai a few months earlier. He looked exactly the same; well, he just told his friend that he went to the Feudal Era, so it would be the same person. He sat down by the fire and drew his knees to his chest. Staring moodily into the fire, he failed to notice that Kagome had come up behind him and sat down.

"Something on your mind?" she asked.

His head snapped up and he jumped into a fighting stance. Seeing who it was, he relaxed and sat back down. "I didn't know you were here," he said.

"I am. Is it that surprising? I mean, I do go to Yusuke's school. Why wouldn't I be here?"

He remained silent, not having an answer for that.

"Is something bothering you?" she asked.

"Not really," he replied. "I just can't sleep."

"Me neither," she agreed. "Mind if I keep you company?"

"If you feel like it." They sat in silence for a while, watching the fiery light of the flames in the pit.

"When were you going to tell me?" she asked suddenly.

She could tell this caught him completely off-guard. "I beg your pardon?"

"About going through the well. And that you were our Hiei, our baby boy that was taken from us. Were you ever going to let us know that you were still alive?" Her voice rose with each question, the last one bordering on hysteria.

Not wanting to wake up the entire park, he motioned for her to keep her voice down and said, "I wasn't going to tell anyone. Would you have believed me? I don't think so. Besides, you were better off not knowing."

"How can you say that?" Hysteria was in her voice again. "We loved you like you were our son! And now you abandon us?"

Seeing that she wouldn't calm down, he covered her mouth with his hand and hissed, "Keep it down! I'm not abandoning you. I just wanted to remember you like you were. How was I to know that you wouldn't try and purify me for what you thought was lying? I wanted to remember you from a time when you loved me. That's all."

He slowly released her mouth when it didn't look like she would break into hysterics again. "But we do love you, Hiei," she whispered softly. "We always have. No matter what, we wouldn't abandon you."

"If you didn't know it was me, you would," he shot back.

"I know that you're the same boy we took care of. Come back to us."

He looked unsure. "Why?" he asked carefully. "If I go back, then what?"

"I'll tell the others. Inuyasha will be the hardest, but-"

"You don't have to worry about him," Hiei interrupted her. "He already knows."

"Nani!" she asked in disbelief.

"He knew my scent, and found out. It would have been too much of a shock to tell everyone then."

"When I get my hands on him…" she muttered to herself. "Do the others know yet?"

"No."

"I'll tell them. No," she said, seeing that he was about to object, "they'll want to know also. They've missed you as well."

"Wouldn't it put undue stress on Sango?" he ventured.

"She'll want to see you. And, if you're around, she would have an extra babysitter."

He smiled internally at the image of him trying to look after her twins. "I don't know…" he trailed off.

"Please, Hiei," she begged. "Trust me, they won't hate you or anything. Please?"

He was starting to give in. "You could just visit. You don't have to live with us or anything. You can still stay wherever you do right now."

"I don't have any particular place. I stay in trees."

"Oh, then you could live with us! There's plenty of room, and not a whole lot of people to fill it up. Please?" She gave him her best puppy look.

He took one look at her face and gave in. "Fine," he muttered. "If it makes you happy."

She threw her arms around him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she whisper-shouted. Apparently he wasn't used to this behavior; he stiffened when her arms reached him. He relaxed, though, after a few seconds and returned the hug.

They returned to watching the fire in silence, only it was a comfortable silence. Kagome started to get tired; her eyes were closing and she had to continually jerk them open again.

"I think you should go to sleep," advised Hiei.

"Then what would you do?" she asked, trying not to yawn.

"I would put out the fire and sleep in the trees."

"But isn't that uncomfortable?"

"Not when you're used to it. Go."

She obeyed, walking drunkenly towards her own tent. Looking back, she saw him put out the fire and leap into the trees. Not giving it another thought she fell into the tent and went to sleep.

To her annoyance, Robin and Serena woke her before she was ready to wake up. After screaming at them (they only laughed) she changed and stepped outside where the buses were waiting. She slung her backpack across her back and sauntered over to their bus. This time she sat behind Robin and Michael so she wouldn't have to shout in order to talk to them. Serena got the aisle seat this time and they talked about how they felt about the trip. Using this as a cue, Kagome brought up her run-in with an old friend of theirs.

"It really is Hiei?" Robin asked weakly when she finished.

"There's no doubt about it. He's our Hiei."

Michael and Serena didn't know who Hiei was, but they'd heard of him in the form of stories that the other two told them. "So, he's alive and coming to the shrine?" asked Serena.

"Yes, and I'm going to try and convince him to stay. If that's all right with you guys," she added hastily.

They murmured their assent. "Okay, so he just has to show up now."

They talked of what they wanted to do while they had summer vacation, and they were home a lot quicker than they had thought possible. Everyone said their good-byes, and left for home to celebrate their first day of summer vacation.


	19. Chapter 19

**Angel452: No, Kagome won't question Hiei. Something else occupies her attention, as the first sentence will show. Yes, if Hiei stays, then he'll watch out for Tanner. The STN won't bother them yet.**

**Fuyu Taki: Yup, she finally found her baby. Now the rest of the gang has to be told.**

&&

On the way home, a piece of information hit Kagome like a locomotive. She stopped moving, staring into the space in front of her. "Kagome, what's wrong?" asked a worried Serena. The other two, who had been walking in front of them, also stopped and turned to see what the matter was.

"I just remembered something," Kagome said, looking almost horrified. "I had completely forgotten this."

"What?" asked Robin in concern.

"Sango's babies should have been just born."

Looks of comprehension broke out on their faces. "Let's go see her," said Robin. "I can't believe we forgot about something as important as that."

They ran to the shrine and made a beeline for the well. They almost didn't notice Michael and Serena stop at the door. "What's wrong?" called Robin impatiently.

"We've never been there," answered Michael. "How about you two go, we'll wait for you to tell us what's the news."

Sighing in exasperation, Kagome and Robin took an arm of each person and dragged them to the well's opening and threw them down into the dark pit. Ignoring Serena's screams, they plummeted after them.

Upon reaching the other side, they once again took an arm and somehow managed to get them out into the grass and sunshine. "Run," commanded Kagome, and they all obeyed without question.

"Run where?" asked Robin, seeing that they weren't headed for the village.

"To the house Miroku built for them."

Reaching their goal, they slowed to a walk and wandered up the path to the door. "Miroku," called Kagome, "Sango, are you here?"

"I'm in here," came Sango's voice from a door to their right.

Entering the room, they saw that she was in bed and was holding two beautiful babies. "Oh, Sango," breathed Robin, "they're beautiful. Congratulation."

The new mother smiled happily. "Thank you. I'm glad you all are here."

"Are they boys or girls?" asked Serena, drawing close to see the sleeping babies.

"The first one is a boy, and the one on the right is a girl," she replied.

"When were they born?" asked Kagome.

"Just a few days ago. I should be able to get around on my own soon. I doubt Miroku agrees with me though." She laughed. "He treats me like I'm made of china; he won't let me do anything for myself."

"Hey, Sango, where did you want all this equipment?" called the voice of Inuyasha from the room they had just left.

"It goes in the equipment room, where else?" she responded jokingly.

"Very funny. Now where is the equipment room?"

"It's the far left one. Do you remember Miroku showing you?"

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about."

"Oh, Inuyasha, when you're done with that, come in here. There are some guests that I want you to see."

"If that's what you want, Sango." They could hear him stomping away to put the equipment away.

"Um, Sango, what equipment does he have?" asked Kagome nervously.

"Just some tools from my old village so I can keep my weapons in good repair without having to go back there every time something breaks or gets worn down."

"I guess that makes sense," said Kagome slowly. "But still, isn't some of that stuff sharp? Do you really want your kids around that kind of stuff?"

Sango shrugged it off. "They'll be fine. I won't let them in there for a long time. In the long term, it's so we don't have to keep going back, but for now it's for Kohaku. I'd rather him not go back there."

"I can understand why," responded Kagome softly. _Kohaku killed the demon slayers of their village, and that allowed the demons to kill the rest of the people in there. It's not his fault since he was under Naraku's power, but he must still feel pretty guilty._

The sound of footsteps brought her out of her thoughts. "Okay, who's so important that I have to stop my day and-" That was as far as Inuyasha got. Walking in the door, he stopped talking and stared at them. Kagome rushed to him and threw her arms around him.

"Surprised to see us?" asked Robin playfully, looking like she was immensely enjoying his lack of composure.

"When did you get here?" he asked dumbly.

"A couple minutes ago," said Michael.

"I don't remember you coming here before," he began.

"They had to see Sango's babies," said Kagome, still hugging him like she was trying to squeeze the air from his lungs. "Where's Miroku?"

Sango gestured outside. "He's performing an exorcism in a neighboring village. He didn't want to leave me alone, so he asked Inuyasha to look after me while he was away."

"And you trust him alone in a different village?" asked Serena, hearing about how lecherous he was.

Correctly interpreting what the other girl was thinking, Sango laughed. "He isn't a lecher anymore, thank goodness. He stopped that as soon as we got married. He knows what will happen if he goes back to those ways." Her eyes took on a malicious glint.

"We don't want to tire you out, Sango," said Kagome. "We just came to congratulate you and see the babies. But we do have to go back. Sota, my brother, is coming home, and we need to be there for him." Still hanging onto Inuyasha, she and the others left the house. While everyone else went on ahead, Kagome and Inuyasha dragged a bit.

"You haven't been here for a long time," he stated.

"I know. School took a lot of time," she explained, knowing he wouldn't accept that as a good excuse.

"Did you finish this 'school' yet?" he asked.

"It's done for the year, but then there's next year." His adorable ears drooped in unhappiness. "It's not that bad. Well, maybe it is. There's still college to think of."

"What's college?" he wanted to know.

"It's more school. I need to get into college so I can have a good job and make enough to pay for Sota's tuition."

"Is there no end to school?" he whined.

"There is, it just happens to be when I turn 22," she said. "I have to go and wait for Sota, so this is good-bye for now."

"Then good-bye," he whispered in her ear. He kissed her quickly and bounded into the trees surrounding them.

Noticing that the others were waiting on her, she ran up and they jumped down the well.

&&

_That was good for Kagome to be back there with all her friends,_ Robin said to herself as they walked back to their home. Kagome seemed to shine with an inner glow every time they visited the Sengoku Jidai.

"Sota?" called Kagome when the entered the house.

"Welcome back," his voice floated from the living room, where he was watching TV. "How was it?"

"The school overnight was better than I thought, and Sango's babies are so cute. What did you guys think?"

They all gave the same answer. "How are you?" Serena asked Sota.

"I'm good. I just got back a couple minutes ago."

"That's good. Did you have fun while we were away?"

"Um, school was the same as ever, but staying with Genki and his family was great."

"Now we're in their debt, since they did us a huge favor," sighed Kagome.

"We'll send over some food; after all, they still have a growing boy in the house," decided the fire Craft-user. "I'll get started on our dinner, then make their 'thank-you food'." She bustled off to the kitchen, her home within her home.

"Okay," started Michael when he recovered from Robin's abrupt departure, "let's get the table set and all that stuff."

They did as they were told and ate Robin's delicious meal. Sota declared that he was getting spoiled, since Robin cooked just about every night, and he was getting used to it. She only smiled and started cleaning the table; the others washed the dishes and put the extra food away.

_I wonder how Amon, Sakaki, Doujima, and Karasuma are doing,_ she said to herself as she soaked in the bath. _I'll have to ask Michael who they replaced me with. Probably not another Craft-user. I miss them._ Sighing, she got out of the cooling water and toweled off the droplets on her skin. She crawled into her bed and silently said her prayers. _Maybe I'll go and visit them later. In disguise, of course, but I really do miss them._ With that, Robin fell asleep and dreamed of her old life with the STN-J.

_Owari_

&&

**Okay, that's the last chapter in this story. I do have the next one if anyone's interested. Just let me know if it's worth posting. If enough people want it up, and I won't define 'enough', then I'll put it up. Until then, bye.**


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